BBC (London, UK) 12 May 06 Snake found in pot plant purchase
A woman from Kent believes she had a lucky escape after finding a snake in a pot plant bought from a DIY store.
The Madagascan corn snake emerged from a dragon tree plant two days after Hayley Keeler, from Margate, bought it from Homebase at Westwood.
"If it had got under the floorboards or in the sofa and bitten me I wouldn't have been too impressed," she said.
Homebase said it was an unusual event and was being taken seriously but the snake was not thought to be dangerous.
Maternity nurse Ms Keeley said she found the foot-long snake when she went to water the plant.
"It was half hanging out of one of the holes in the bottom of the pot," she said.
"I was crying and laughing at myself at the same time as I was frantically trying to find something to put over it."
The RSPCA, which has rehomed the animal, said it was a baby which had probably got into the plant in this country.
"They are very good escape artists and this one is likely to have escaped from somebody who had it as a pet," said a spokeswoman.
Homebase said its quality and technical team was investigating.
"We have not previously experienced many reports of wildlife in our plants," it said.
Snake found in pot plant purchase