Three-foot-long snake sparks panic on UK train
Railway workers panicked after spotting a three-foot-long corn snake living on a train parked at a UK depot.
Photos of the snake crawling across the floor of the Southern Railway carriage have been circulating on social media.
Cleaners spotted the reptile during routine cleaning and post-service checks, prompting staff at Selhurst Train Depot in Croydon to contact police.
However, British Transport Police didn’t appear to be very keen on moving the snake, so called out reptile expert Gareth North from nearby Mitcham Zoo.
Despite being scared, the railroad workers managed to get the snake into a bag after cornering the reptile in the carriage
Mr North told The Sun: “It was a corn snake – it’s not poisonous at all but I think the workers at the train depot got a bit of a shock.
“British transport police were more scared. They arrived and checked in, saw the line and practically ran out of the train car.
“They then contacted me, but by the time I got there the snake had been put in a bag by the train workers.”
Mr North said there was certainly a possibility the snake could have been disposed of by its owner, something he has seen a big leap from as people cannot afford to care for the exotic pets due to the cost of living crisis To take care of.
He said: “We really can’t be sure how the snake got on the train. There could be several reasons for this.
“The trains are warm and the heating on these trains is on 24 hours a day, every day.
“Out in the open it would have died because it’s too cold. It is not native to this country.
“It’s possible that someone threw it on the ground, but it’s also possible that it just escaped from a happy home and got on the train while it was in the surface yard.”
He continued, “Right now we’re just looking at the condition of the snake. She’s dehydrated, so she may have been on the train for a long time — it’s hard to say.
“It has some artificial injuries right where it tried to get through the heater grids on the floor.”
Mr Noth added they will review the situation over the next “couple of days” and then be moved to the National Center for Reptile Welfare in Tonbridge.
A Southern Railway spokesman told LADbible of the snake find: “A corn snake was found on a train at our south London depot on Friday night and staff immediately contacted authorities.
“The snake was kept there safely until a staff member from Mitcham Zoo, a rescue and shelter center, came to collect it, where it is now being cared for.”
