MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS (UK) 14 October 05 Snake loose - check your loo! (Yakub Qureshi)

A six-feet long boa constrictor is on the loose in an upmarket Manchester suburb - and residents have been warned to watch their toilet seats.

The alarm was raised after the snake was spotted in an apartment on Clyde Road, West Didsbury.

A 19-year-old man went to the bathroom and spotted the constrictor curled up inside the bowl of the toilet.

He ran from the room and into the garden to find a concrete block which he placed on the toilet seat to stop the snake from escaping.

RSPCA officials and firefighters were called to the apartment block and used a fibre optic camera to check the drains and plumbing.

But there was no sign of the snake and experts now believe it has entered the sewage system on the street where semi-detached homes go on the market for up to £400,000.

Property agent David Fitzgerald, from landlords KF Property, said: "It was 2am and the resident was obviously quite sleepy so I think he was quite surprised to see the snake there looking back at him.

"He raced down to the garden and got a concrete block which he used to cover the toilet seat and I think he quite forgot about going to the toilet."

Tenant Mr Fitzgerald said it was still not certain where the snake had come from but a previous tenant had kept a boa constrictor in his room. "All we know is that we had a tenant in the property who did have a snake and who left a couple of months ago.

"The building has been thoroughly checked out. It's not in the house anymore but I don't think people will be feeling too comfortable."

There are some 100 properties on the street, many of which have been converted into flats.

The RSPCA said there was nothing they could do until the creature was spotted again.

Animal collection officer Donna Holt said: "The camera has done what it can to check the system and it's a question of waiting now.

"We would advise people to keep their toilet lids down and check before using the bathroom."

She stressed that the snake's species had not been confirmed but that any creature should not be approached.

The boa constrictor hails from South America and in the wild eats rodents and small birds and can grow up to five metres (16 feet) long.
Snake loose - check your loo!

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• GBR Press: Snake loose - check your loo! - W von Papineäu, Mon Oct 17 18:34:24 2005