Outrage As Couple Use Windscreen Wipers To Force Snake Off Their Car

A couple have been criticised for using their car's windscreen wipers to get rid of a snake on their car.

Melissa Hudson and her partner Rodney Griggs were heading down the Bruce Highway to Alligator Creek in north Queensland when they saw a huge carpet python slithering across the windscreen.

In footage of the encounter, the Australian couple quickly turn on the wipers, hoping that it will force the scaly visitor off their vehicle.

The pair can be heard laughing while Ms Hudson tells Mr Griggs to 'concentrate on the road'.

Speaking to the Courier Mail, Ms Hudson said the three-metre snake was fine in the end and slithered off after a traffic controller offered a helping hand.

She said: "It was quite amusing, we knew the stop sign was coming up so we could get help.

"What if the snake had come out in the footwell and was inside the car? It would have been the easiest place to crash. It would have been horrible."

Melissa Hudson

Ms Hudson added: "He [the traffic controller] stopped traffic that was going to come in the other direction, so [the snake] could get to the other side of the road and will hopefully live happily ever after up there."

However, many who have seen the video have been critical of Ms Hudson and her partner for using the wipers to try and get rid of the hitchhiker.

Blasting the pair, one viewer said: "What a terrible human. Poor python was hurting no one. I hope karma finds you."

Another irate user commented: "What a cruel person. Seriously, hope this driver is cautioned or fined for being inconsiderate of a living being... jeez."

While a third added: "Poor snake..... it was on the OUTSIDE!!!! Not sure why the freak out and hurting it with the wipers."

Melissa Hudson

It will come as no surprise to anyone that Australia is packed full of things that want to kill you, so you can see why they may have panicked slightly.

Recently, a brave family cat died while coming to the rescue of some children in Queensland, after they were threatened by a deadly snake.

Arthur the cat was playing around with his owners on the Sunshine Coast and leapt into action when he noticed an Eastern Brown snake come into the garden.

The feline protected the two young children from the reptile by standing between them.

The Queensland veterinarian Animal Emergency Service Facebook page explained that during this standoff, Arthur managed to kill the Eastern Brown, but not before it hit him with a 'fatal envenomation snake bite'.

Topics: Viral, Social Media, Snakes, Australia

Dominic Smithers

Dominic graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History. Like you, Dom has often questioned how much use a second language has been. Well, after stints working at the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express, along with never setting foot in France, he realised the answer is surprisingly little. But I guess, c'est la vie. Contact us at [email protected]

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