Snake stops Gosport officer in their tracks as it makes a home in their police car
"I couldn't believe what I was seeing"
An experienced police officer had one of their most surprising shifts earlier this week when a snake crawled into their police car.
PC Biggs was driving out of the Tesco Express car park on Forton Road, Gosport when he spotted a snake slithering across the road in front of the car. What followed was an afternoon of trying to coax the reptile out with the help of a number of passers by and local services lending a hand after the snake sought respite in the cars wheel arch and engine.
PC Biggs recounted the eventful encounter in a post on social media. The post said: “I immediately jumped out of the police car and stopped another vehicle from entering the car park, preventing it from running the snake over. Apologies to that driver if I looked like a complete lunatic, but I genuinely couldn't believe what I was seeing.
“The snake completely ignored my enthusiastic arm waving and continued slithering across the car park towards the police car. As I watched, the snake disappeared underneath the car. At that moment, I briefly considered grabbing it by the tail and pulling it back out. Thankfully, my survival instincts kicked in, and I allowed it to continue its journey underneath the vehicle.
“Rather than stay in the cool shade beneath the car, the snake began climbing into the wheel arch. Within seconds, it had wrapped itself around part of the undercarriage.”
Having called in the assistance of a disbelieving colleague they set about trying to encourage the snake, later identified as a corn snake, out. Fortuitously, passers by Jason and his daughter Kayleigh, asked if they needed help with both of them experienced with reptiles. They called in another expert, Marcus, to help.
With the snake moving itself further in to the car with their attempts to get it out, including tempting it with a dead mouse and using a jack to lift the vehicle, Boarhunt Garage came to their aid to lift the car higher and make access easier. This enabled the snake enthusiasts, Jason and Marcus, to successfully extract it from the car and get it to safety.
The post continued: “I'm pleased to report that the snake—now officially named Brian—is safe and well. He was taken to Alver Vets for a check-up and thankfully suffered no injuries during his adventure. I've since been informed that Brian is a Corn Snake and is apparently very friendly.
“A huge thank you to everyone who helped: Jason, Kayleigh and Marcus, the team at Boarhunt, Tesco Express, the gentleman who provided the mouse, the garage who lent us the jack, and anyone else I've inadvertently missed.”
Having been saved from the car, police are now looking for the owner and have asked them to get in touch. Brian is safely being looked after at a local reptile centre.