Snake slithers down chimney and attacks police in home


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AN ABBEY Wood family got the ssssscare of their lives when a 3ft snake slithered out of the chimney and attacked police as they tried for an hour to capture it.

Officers used containment tactics and avoided repeated attempts by the animal to sink its fangs into them before eventually capturing the creature with the help of a bin, a takeaway pizza box and some gaffer tape.

The red-eyed reptile (pictured above) - believed to be an aggressive albino desert kingsnake which feeds on rattlesnakes and mammals - was first discovered by cat Missy at the Camrose Street home in the early hours of July 14 as three friends sat drinking in the front room.

 After Missy's hair stood on end and she began hissing at the fireplace, one of the men looked up into the chimney and came face to face with the reptile.

Annie Cox, 53, was woken up by her terrified son who was sweating and white in the face.

She said: "First I told him to clear off. I thought he'd been drinking heavily."

She went on: "I marched into the front room in my pyjamas, in all my glory and looked into the chimney.

"It put its nose about two inches from my face. Then I kind of went into panic mode."

 Mrs Cox's 21-year-old neighbour and nightclub bouncer Rob Buckingham, phoned the RSPCA but, when there was no answer contacted the police instead.

He said: "First it started poking its head out, then it was just getting longer and longer as it came down the chimney.

"By the time police arrived it was out and wrapped around an ornament."

Three officers arrived on the scene armed with a box, but it took at least an hour to capture the beast.

Mrs Cox said: "It was very fast and every time someone approached it, opened its mouth and showed its fangs.

"They managed to get it into a box and we were all standing there, quite relieved, but then it escaped again and started zig-zagging across the floor."

Eventually, they managed to trap it using an upturned bin, sliding a pizza lid underneath and sealing it with tape.

The animal was later taken in by Willow Wildlife Rescue in Chislehurst.

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  • 2 weeks later...

These snakes are not native to the UK so I expect someone had it as a pet and either abandoned it or it escaped.

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The snake would have probably wandered out if they had left it alone.

Agreed. Turning the A/C to max cold would make it uncomfortable and drive it to the nearest exit. We did that with a rattlesnake in the back of our van ~10 years sgo; A/C on, air recirculation set to max, turn on the rear seat cooler & fans, crack the sliding door and away he went.

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Agreed. Turning the A/C to max cold would make it uncomfortable and drive it to the nearest exit. We did that with a rattlesnake in the back of our van ~10 years sgo; A/C on, air recirculation set to max, turn on the rear seat cooler & fans, crack the sliding door and away he went.

 

Houses in the UK almost never have A/C...

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Houses in the UK almost never have A/C...

Interesting. About 88% of existing US homes, and almost all of the new constructions, do. Same for businesses & offices. Retrofitting has been a major business. Of course major parts of the southern & western US are quite hot and/or humid.

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Interesting. About 88% of existing US homes, and almost all of the new constructions, do. Same for businesses & offices. Retrofitting has been a major business. Of course major parts of the southern & western US are quite hot and/or humid.

 

We don't have the weather for it.  Maybe for 4 or 5 weeks in the summer, if we're lucky.  Otherwise... there's a reason England has a reputation for being cold and damp. :p

 

I'd be surprised if even 1% of English homes had aircon.  Maybe some with portable units for summer, but that's about it.

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Just reading this gives the chills. I hate snakes and to have one in the house with me......

I have 3 :3 come pet my boa dw he only little :3 (5ft at mo) 

 

when i worked in the rspca (reptile devision) we had loads of snakes coming in all the time... problem with snakes and this country is no one knows what the hell they are doing ... the first thing my parents would do ... is put the dogs away (as they are not good at identifying snakes) take a picture of it ... try and contrain it in a large box / feed it a mouse  and phone me 

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Interesting. About 88% of existing US homes, and almost all of the new constructions, do. Same for businesses & offices. Retrofitting has been a major business. Of course major parts of the southern & western US are quite hot and/or humid.

Today it was 97 in the shade with a heat index of 110. A/C is a necessity in the summer for us.

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Today it was 97 in the shade with a heat index of 110. A/C is a necessity in the summer for us.

 

 

^ Been like September here, in the past week. :/

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