Delivery driver discovers stowaway snake in footwell of car

A stowaway snake was spotted slithering in the footwell of a delivery driver's car, as he drove it to its new owners in Melton.

The five-foot corn snake was seen dangling around the pedals in the drivers footwell.

The driver pulled over in the Burton-on-Trent area, leaping out of the car and eventually phoned nearby Linjoy Wildlife Sanctuary.

The sanctuary said it was unable to persuade the deliver driver to get back into the car with the snake and drive it to them.

Lindsay Newell, who runs the charity, said: "He spoke to our volunteer, Mark, who was unable to persuade him to get back in the car. So we went out there."

"It was a 5ft corn snake - they're harmless and we've dealt with a few of them in the past."Often they're pets that people have dumped and they have been found inside vehicles - we had to get one out of a van not long ago. This car had been at a dealership for a while and had been to a valeting service but the snake had never shown itself before.

"It was very cold so I think it had been in the car for a few days, probably. When the driver first saw it the snake was hanging down near the pedals."When we got there it was wedged under the passenger's seat and you could only see its tail. We tried to grab it but it moved under the carpet."We managed to get the carpet out but it had disappeared. We realised it had gone into a hole and was behind the plastic on the passenger's side near the door."

Eventually, after dismantling some of the plastic, poking their fingers in holes and using their phones to try to spot the snake in the dark recesses of the vehicle, the team from the sanctuary managed to get hold of it.The rescue centre is waiting to see if there could be medical complications before looking to rehome it.Lindsay said: "On Saturday night it finally ate some food for the first time."We will aim to rehome it but only if it's okay medically."