http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-27460591
"What's more we've had no escapes, so Coventry can sleep easy," he added.
With more than 800 different types of tarantula, he said there were a number of criteria that judges looked for, including how healthy the specimen was and whether the colours were right for that species.
Mr Hale, who originally comes from Birmingham, keeps about 200 tarantulas at his home in Sussex.
Scorpions and other creatures were also on show in Coventry, with experts and academics on hand to answer questions.
