Grandad fights off 11ft PYTHON that slithered into conservatory of his Hampshire home
The python coiled around 61-year-old Rob Byrne
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A grandad was attacked by an 11ft python that slithered through a window in his conservatory in Hampshire.
Rob Byrne, 61, suffered minor injuries after the python coiled round him and stuck its teeth into his arm.
The snake has since been captured and has been to a reptile centre.
Byrne, from Bishopstoke, was locking up his conservatory doors when he saw something move through his window and was startled to discover it was a python.
WATCH NOW: Chris Newman on escaped snake story
“It tried to bite me and coil around me,” he said.
“Its fangs nicked my arm and drew blood as it tried to sink its teeth into my arm.
“It caught the back of my arm with one fang and the other fang got caught in my polo shirt.
“Once I shoved it away it withdrew to halfway across the conservatory, but it pinned me in the corner and it was sort of waving and looking at me."
His wife and granddaughter soon entered the room, screaming as they saw the reptile.
“That must have spooked it because it then slowly slithered back out of the window,” he said.
The grandfather continued: “Luckily flight or fight kicked in and I managed to fight it off, whereupon it retreated and coiled itself from the windows and dropped slowly down into the garden.”
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Byrne said that if the snake had attacked his two-year-old grandchild, she would not have survived.
He believes that it was adrenaline on the day allowed to him to fight off the creature.
The Bishopstoke resident has called for snake owners to be more responsible with their pets.
“I know there are reptile enthusiasts out there that are perfectly responsible and no problem to their neighbours or the wider public but there must be some people that are totally irresponsible for so many snakes to be on the loose.
“I did not expect to be attacked by a giant python in my own home but if it happened to me, it can happen to you.”
Director of the National Centre for Reptile Welfare, Chris Newman, said it was “highly unusual” to find a python so large.
It is "highly unusual" to find a python so large
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The snake Byrne found was 11ft, whereas most they capture are between four and five ft.
Newman echoed Byrne’s warning to snake owners, saying that people need to “really think” before purchasing a snake as a pet.
He said: “Snakes are escape artists. You've only got to turn your back for a second and the snake will have disappeared and we really don't recommend taking snakes out into the garden.”
Earlier this month, police officers in the West Midlands came face-to-face with a 12ft python.
They received a call from a member of the public notifying them about the snake at 1.30am.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) were unable to step in to assist due to the time, so some “brave” West Midlands police were forced to intervene.
Elsewhere in Yorkshire, a bright orange snake was spotted on a train in July.
Commuters fled the carriage after noticing the brightly coloured reptile, which was believed to have been a corn snake.
The RSPCA advised pet owners to keep their snakes secure amid concern about soaring temperatures.
The RSPCA received more than 1,200 reports about snakes last year, with the most made during the summer.
June, July and August saw as many as six reports every day.
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