West Bromwich: Police rescue 12ft-long yellow snake ‘without too many slips and slides’
Police in the West Midlands have rescued a 12ft-long python from the streets of West Bromwich.
Officers from Sandwell Police apprehended the creature just after midnight on Tuesday after a call from a member of the public.
Not shy of using a few puns, in a statement, Sandwell Police said: “Our officers are not easily rattled when it comes to responding to unusual calls as we deal with a huge variety of incidents.
“Just after 1.30am this morning [5 Sept] we received a call from a member of the public that a 12ft yellow python was slithering on Harwood Street, West Bromwich.
“While RSPCA colleagues would usually handle this situation they were not able to attend due to the time of the call so some of our brave response officers stepped in.
“We managed to safely rescue the snake and get it into our van without too many slips and slides.
“The snake was then transferred to a nearby veterinary hospital for overnight care.”
It comes a week after a swan was caught slowing down traffic in Porthmadog, Gwynedd, before getting itself to safety.
The incident sparked comparisons with scenes from the film Hot Fuzz, where police officers (played by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost) in the fictional Sandford are called to catch a swan on the loose, spawning the meme: “Just the one swan actually.”