Mechanic finds 6ft black rat snake in car bonnet (From Hounslow And Brentford Times)

Mechanic finds 6ft black rat snake in car bonnet

5:12pm Thursday 10th June 2010

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A mechanic has told of his shock after finding a 6ft snake under the bonnet of a van.

Prem Gharu, 28, was finishing an MOT on a Ford Transit at the Test Centre, in Staines Road, Feltham, when he discovered the serpent.

He said: “At first I thought it was a fake snake, I thought someone was trying to play a joke on me.

“I said to my assistant, ‘Look at that, someone has put that there to play a trick on me’. Then it started to move about and I got a bit of a shock.

“I called the boss over and said ‘Quick, there’s a snake under the bonnet’. He came running over and so did all the boys.”

Mr Gharu, of Hatton Road, Bedfont, had earlier inspected the underneath of the van with the engine running before deciding to have a last look under the bonnet.

An exotic animal handler from Heathrow’s customs team arrived to fish the black rat snake out with a long pole before taking it to quarantine.

Mr Gharu, known as “Huggy” to his workmates, said the expert reassured them the constrictor was not venomous or dangerous to humans.

He said: “The snake was in the corner where there’s some insulation – he must have found himself a home there.

“He had moved from there behind the headlight, and from there he started wrapping himself around the engine.”

The mechanic, who has worked at the Test Centre for 12 years, said he had never seen anything like it.

He said: “The quarantine guy came and got him and took him out. The guy said the snake came from north America.

“The owner wasn’t aware as far as I know. The vehicle looked like it was stationary for a long time from looking at the mould on the body and a few leaves around the windscreen.

“I think it might have been somewhere where it was exposed to wildlife for a little bit.”

q Are you the snake’s owner? Let us know by calling Paul Teed on 020 8744 4273 or by emailing pteed @london.newsquest.co.uk.

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