A LARGE black snake which popped up out of a drain in a back garden in Cleethorpes – in front of a shocked Cleethorpes family – may not be the only one!
The Peck family were shocked to see the Mexican King Snake slither out of the grate covering a drain at their home in Mill Place.
Reptile experts say the constrictor snake – which can grow up to 4ft long – may have hatched from a nest of eggs, which could have been laid in the sewers of Grimsby and Cleethorpes.
Petrified Linda Peck said: "My husband Geoff and I walked past our back door, which is made of glass, and saw what looked like a very large slug on the drain.
"My husband went outside to have a better look but it had gone back down.
"About ten minutes later, we looked again and saw the head of the snake poking out.
"It began to come out of the drain and towards the house. I was terrified – there was a big black snake coming out of a drain towards us!
"We shut the door and called my son, Simon, who is a firefighter and is afraid of nothing.
"Simon tried to pick it up but it snapped at him so he put a recycling box on top of it.
"He then remembered seeing a reptile shop nearby that was opening the next day, so he ran to the shop hoping to find somebody.
"Fortunately there were people inside and they came straight out to help. They identified the snake and told us it was not venomous, which was a relief.
"I spoke to some of the neighbours afterwards and they said they had seen the snake in the street about three weeks ago.
"I never want to see it again in my life."
Simon said: "When mum called me, she was crying down the phone. I thought somebody had died until she finally explained it.
"I was expecting to find a grass snake or something small. It was a lot a bigger than that when I arrived.
"It was a deep black colour and I thought it might be venomous.
"I have seen a lot of shows on the TV about snakes and I tried to grab its tail but it tried to twist round so I let it go. I got a shovel to cover its face and covered it with a recycling box. "We were very lucky there was somebody at the reptile shop to help."
Charlotte Marshall, the owner of Medusa's Reptiles, in Dolphin Square, Cleethorpes, came to the family's aid. She said: "This guy came running in saying there was a big snake in the garden and could we help. As he described it, we knew straight away it was a Mexican King Snake. We picked up a plastic container and a stick and went to the house. The snake looked quite skinny, like it hadn't eaten in a while.
"They are quite common as pets because they are easy to look after. It was very young, so either someone has bought it recently or a female snake has escaped a few months ago and has laid eggs.
"He could be one of the hatchlings living in the drains.
"My advice when dealing with any snake you find is not to go near them. Call a specialist and stay well away from the snake."
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