Mum's shock as 'huge' snake gatecrashes her baby's first birthday party

A mum-of-one has described her shock after a snake gatecrashed her daughter's first birthday party.

Monique Shaw, 19, was at her sister's house in Pwllheli, on Sunday, May 29, having a party for her daughter Eden when her sister's cat brought in a 50cm adder and dropped it by the dinner table.

The house where the party was held is just a stone's throw from sand dunes - the perfect habitat for snakes.

Monique said the family were preparing to bring out the birthday cake when the cat dropped the snake on the floor and walked off.

She said: "I was sitting in the living room when I heard my aunty scream and I saw her and my mum run outside.

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"I wasn't sure what had happened at first. I thought maybe the cat had brought in a bird or a mouse until I heard someone say 'it's a snake'.

"She just wandered in and dropped it on the living room floor in front of everyone, really proud of herself. It looked huge, it was definitely more than a foot in length.

"There was a moment of panic as no one knew if it was dead or alive, but it didn't move so my uncle used a dustpan and brush to take it back to the dunes.

"Thank God he was there because the rest of us just stood around not really sure what to do. He reckons it was around 50cm in length. In fairness, the snake was probably more scared than we were.

"At least it'll be a good story to tell her when she's older. We'd actually taken her to Chester Zoo the day before and I'd been saying how it was a shame we didn't see any snakes, but we've definitely made up for that now!"

The adder is the only venomous snake native to Britain. Bites are more frequent in the spring as the snakes come out of hibernation.

Adders tend to venture out into the open to bask in the warm sunlight during the warmer months.

While dogs are usually more at risk of being bitten, in humans around 100 adder bites are reported each year in the UK, with most of them occurring in coastal counties.

Their natural habitat is in areas of rough open countryside, sandy heaths, rocky hillsides, moors, coastal dunes and hedgerows but are rarely found in gardens.

Adders are thick, stocky snakes which can grow up to 70cm long. It is it is illegal to kill, injure, harm, or sell adders under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.