Pensioner Finds Snake In Her Oven When She Opens The Door To Cook Chips

Giving the oven a good clean is pretty low down on most people's list of favourite chores. It's a job that requires some real elbow grease and it's so dark in there it's often easier to just leave it out of sight and out of mind. Quickly open the door and retrieve your food, ignore the grimy layers of filth accumulating inside.

But for one pensioner in Stockport, UK, it may be time to get out the head torch and the marigolds and have a good old scrub.

The 82-year-old was sliding her oven chips in on Friday when she discovered a massive snake was lurking inside.

Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, she said: "When I opened the oven door and saw it I got the shock of my life.

"I have recently had a cataract operation and was wondering if my eyes were deceiving me - but my husband saw it too."

via GIPHY

The woman hadn't preheated the oven, though the non-venomous African brown snake may have been grateful if she did, considering it is currently around 13 degrees Celsius (55 degrees Fahrenheit) in Manchester, which is about half the snake's ideal basking temperature.

The woman kept her cool though and contacted the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA).

She said: "We are big animal lovers and just wanted to make sure the snake was safe so we were pleased it was rescued by the RSPCA.

"I gave the inspector a big hug and a cup of tea afterwards."

RSPCA

For some international readers, who may find alligators in their toilets and hippos in their sinks all the time, this may not seem like news. But when it comes to slithery things in the UK, a meaty earthworm is about as extreme as it usually gets, so a three foot long African snake in the oven is, well, massive.

RSPCA inspector Andy Harris retrieved the snake from the oven using a hook and a bag.

He said: "When I arrived I expected to find a small corn snake but this snake was quite long - at least three foot.

"It was an African brown house snake, which is a non-venomous species, so I suspect that he is a pet that has escaped or been abandoned."

The snake, which has since been named Sammy, is now in the care of a specialist reptile keeper, while the pensioner's chips are back in the freezer.

She said: "I went off the idea of oven chips so sent my husband to the fish and chip shop instead."

Topics: Snake, Snake, Snake, Snake

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey