Paperboy Notes: These are follow-ons to an event already reported on the 17th. And while I try not to post too many items of a similar nature ... I thought that this one time that I might print a variety of items that cover this event - demonstrating the different sort of press interpretations and tone that one can see about the same event. (Phew - master of the run-on sentance I am today!) There's one more story at Megastar.co.uk that won't come through the filters at work.
respects, Wes

THE TIMES (London, UK) 18 October 05 10ft snake popped out of lavatories at block of flats (Nicola Woolcock)
Photo: Sightings of Keith had been treated with scepticism until a trap was laid for him by one resident (Phil Noble/PA)
When residents in a block of flats saw a 10ft boa constrictor slithering from their lavatory bowls, their claims were treated with scepticism.
They resorted to placing bricks on lavatory lids after the snake put in several surprise appearances. Now the flat-owners have been vindicated: one brave resident trapped the giant reptile during a night-time confrontation in his bathroom. He managed to coax the snake, named Keith, into a bin, ending a two-month reign of terror at the flats in West Didsbury, Manchester.
Keith had been living in the flats’ sewage pipes and is thought to have been abandoned by his owner, evicted for owing £5,500 in rent. The possibility that the snake was left on purpose in revenge for the eviction has not been ruled out.
Although the snake was spotted several times, no one had had the courage to try to catch it. Some treated the “sightings” with suspicion.
Firecrews were called when a bleary-eyed resident went to the lavatory in the middle of the night — and came face-to-face with the snake. They used fibre-optic equipment to check the drains and plumbing but found no trace of the reptile.
However, another resident was confronted by the snake when he found it on his bathroom floor on Saturday evening. The 19-year-old man put a bin on its side and the snake crawled inside. He then placed a lid on the bin and called the RSPCA.
David Fitzgerald, who owns the flats, said: “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.”
Mr Fitzgerald confirmed that a former resident, who was forced out in August for rent arrears, had owned a 12-year-old snake. An RSPCA spokesman said that it was not uncommon for smaller snakes to be found in household sewage pipes, but the discovery of a 10ft boa constrictor was “quite out of the ordinary”.
Jimmy Ratcliff, the society’s regional exotic animals co-ordinator, said: “The snake appears to have been living quite happily in the sewage system of the flats. It would have no problem travelling up and down the waste pipe and has probably been eating rats from the sewer.”
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1830799,00.html

THE SUN (London, UK) 18 October 05 Just going for a hiss ...
Photo: Bathroom scales ... boa in Manchester toilet (Phil Noble/PA)
We know you should always VIPER thoroughly after using the loo — but this must be taking PYTHONAL hygiene a bit too far!
When a terrified flat tenant in Didsbury, Manchester, spotted this 6ft snake curled up in his toilet bowl he nearly wet himself.
The shocked 19-year-old first spotted the boa constrictor in his loo last Friday but it escaped down the U-bend before the RSPCA could catch it.
Experts told people on the posh estate not to use their toilets as the reptile was living in sewers under their £400,000 homes.
But yesterday it slid back up the WC and into the teen’s bathroom where it was finally captured — giving a new meaning to the phrase: “I’m just going to shake the snake.”
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2005480229,00.html

THE MIRROR (London, UK) 18 October 05 Terrorised.. By A 10ft Toilet Snake - Sewer boa is finally flushed out (John Kelly)
Meet Keith...a 10ft boa constrictor who has been captured after popping up in the loos at a posh block of flats.
The snake had terrified tenants since it was first spotted in a toilet last week, after living in sewage pipes for three months.
People had to put bricks on their loo seats to stop the Keith slipping into their bathrooms.
Firemen were even called in to try to track him down in the pipework.
But it was not until Saturday night that a plucky resident finally trapped him in a bucket.
Keith is now in the care of the RSPCA. Spokesman Jimmy Ratcliff, an expert on exotic animals, said: "They can swim very well and can hold their breath for more than 20 minutes - though what is out of the ordinary is the size of this snake.
"It has probably been eating rats in the sewer, where it appears to have been living quite happily."
Boa constrictors are from South or Central America and can grow up to five metres.
They normally climb trees to eat prey like birds and mammals up to the size of a rabbit and can live up to 30.
But imported Keith is believed to have been abandoned by a tenant evicted from the flats in West Didsbury, Manchester, owing £5,500 in rent over three months ago.
So the sneaky snake could have been travelling up and down waste channels since August.
However property agent David Fitzgerald, from landlords KF Property, said he was only called out last week.
He said: "A 19-year-old living in one of the flats went to the loo at 2am and was quite surprised to see the snake looking back at him.
"He raced down to the garden to get a concrete block to cover the toilet seat - but it was several days more before the big capture."
A spokesman for Greater Manchester Fire Service said last night: "An occupier of a flat found the snake in his bathroom, placed a plastic bin on its side and the snake called Keith climbed in. A lid was placed on the bin and it was handed over to the RSPCA."
But one thing might still give the tenants some concern, though. Officers say Keith may be a she not a he... and cannot guarantee she didn't have babies down there.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/topstories/tm_objectid=16261568&method=full&siteid=94762&headline=terrorised---by-a-10ft-toilet-snake-name_page.html

MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS (UK) 17 October 05 Toilet snake captured (John Scheerhout)
A Boa constrictor which vanished down the toilet of a Manchester apartment block, terrifying 25 residents, has been captured.
The shocked resident of one of the flats who first saw the 6ft-long snake curled up inside a toilet bowl last week had another bathroom encounter with the reptile at the weekend.
This time when the 19-year-old saw it in the bathroom on Saturday night, he called the landlord who put a bin on its side and the Boa constrictor helpfully crawled inside.
A lid was placed on the bin and officers from the RSPCA were called to the apartment on Clyde Road, Didsbury, and took the snake away.
The 25 residents of the block had been warned to be on their guard when using their toilet in case it slithered through the pipes into their bathrooms.
On Friday the Manchester Evening News reported how the alarm was raised after the 6ft-long snake was spotted in an apartment on Clyde Road, West Didsbury.
The teenager who found it 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 believed it had entered the sewers under the street where semi-detached homes go on the market for up to £400,000.
Property agent David Fitzgerald, from landlords KF Property, said at the time: "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."
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.
A spokesman for the Fire Service said: "The snake which was seen disappearing down a toilet on Clyde Rd in Didsbury last week has now been captured.
"The occupier of the flat found the snake in his bathroom, the landlord placed a plastic bin on its side and the snake believed to be called Keith the python climbed inside. A lid was placed on the bin and the snake has been handed over to the RSPCA."
http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/men/news/s/178/178159_toilet_snake_captured.html

[ Show Entire Thread ]