Solution...
Why doesn't he just wait in the garden until he sees the adder and then whack it with a spade? He could cut it in two...
Serpent imprisons rattled Yorkshire family
An East Yorkshire couple are awaiting the intervention of trained operatives to banish a toad-eating serpent which has confined them to their Withernsea home, according to this chilling report. Steven Leathley, his wife Christine and son Shaun dare not venture into their garden lest they are set upon by an adder which prowls …
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Tuesday 27th July 2010 11:28 GMT Tanuki
Hissing Sid!
Sounds like it's time to call in Captain Beaky and his Band !
The bravest animals in the land are Captain Beaky and his band
That's Timid Toad, Reckless Rat, Artful Owl and Batty Bat
They march through the woodlands singing songs
that tell how they have righted wrongs.
Coat? Mine's the one with the snakebite-proof gloves in the pocket.
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Tuesday 27th July 2010 12:00 GMT SW
Ex-Communication
As a Yorkshire lad living out in the countryside of France (where we have lots of snakes) I think these two ought to be ex-communicated from being 'Tykes' just get yourself a forked branch, pin it to the ground and stuff it in a bag - problem solved. That is of course if you can get anywhere near it seeing as it's probably a lot more scared of those BIG feet approaching it.
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Tuesday 27th July 2010 12:00 GMT Anonymous Coward
Viper/Grass Snake
Mr Leathley is wrong in assuming that because his reptilian companion has teeth it is an Adder the Grass Snake also has teeth. The adder has venomous fangs in addition to teeth, but the Grass Snakes diet will also include frogs and toads. The main distinguishing feature of the Adder found in Great Britain is the V or X pattern on the back of the neck. Oh also the fact that should you get a bite off an Adder the venom will cause it to hurt like buggery, and may result in death.
That aside both snakes are very timid and non aggressive. Perhaps rather than being confined to their home the Leathley family should fight back against the reptile and reoccupy the back garden.... just ensuring that they make sufficient noise to cause the snake to duck for cover.
Snakes are also considered a bit of phallic symobol... maybe that is the problem here?
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Tuesday 27th July 2010 12:02 GMT ChrisMcD
Probably a grass snake
Brown and olive, eats toads. This sounds like the much commoner grass snake - the one with the big 'V'on it's neck for further confusion!
Adders are shy and retiring, your chances of seeing one hunting are not great. Grass snakes love frogs and are not shy about being seen eating them.
So my money is on a hungry grass snake having it's favorite snack
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Tuesday 27th July 2010 12:02 GMT oldcodger
Relevance?
I still cannot see a connection to IT, other than an old mate of mine when we worked for DEC service, always used to say:-
To fix a DEC system, first you swap the plates, then the snakes and lastly the cupboard.
(Module swap, cable swap and chassis (box) swap)
Apart from that, wtf is up with people nowadays, can't they ever do anything themselves without bleating for help. Tell the loser to bash it with a big lump of wood if he is too scared to pick it up and put it in someone else's garden!
cheers
P
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Tuesday 27th July 2010 12:02 GMT hirudo
not an adder
Brown and olive green? sounds like a grass snake to me, oh and grass snakes do have teeth as I can testify having been bitten by them on more than one occasion.
Also worth pointing out that these are both protected species and you cannot remove them without authority.
Also the chances of being bitten even if it is an adder are very small and most adder bites do not result in more than a little nausea and temporary swelling.
They are not designed to kill creatures of human size and the few deaths in the last fifty years have been on infants or people with prevailing medical conditions.
This is a non story apart from the human idiocy angle.
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Tuesday 27th July 2010 12:13 GMT envmod
bet it's a grass snake
"brown and olive green" - sounds like a grass snake to me. if he saw it bite a toad which escaped (and later died) it is very likely the toad died from shock or physical injury caused by the bite.
anyway, staying out of your garden because there might be a snake in it is madness. i lived in africa for a couple of years in an area with an abundance of snakes and nobody gave them a second thought.
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Tuesday 27th July 2010 12:23 GMT *Al*
Snakes!
"The Adder is not a common garden visitor, though occasionally if conditions suit them they will take up residence.
MOST IMPORTANTLY - DO NOT TRY TO HANDLE ADDERS OR PROVOKE THEM IN ANY WAY.
Adders are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
It is an offence to kill, harm or injure them
sell or trade them in any way"
http://www.herpetofauna.co.uk/adder.htm
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Tuesday 27th July 2010 13:20 GMT Anonymous Coward
Atheris hispida
Forget Grass Snakes and Adders just found this one on the Interweb and it sounds a heck of a lot more dangerous.
Atheris hispida the common name of which is the 'Hairy Bush Viper' or 'African Hairy Bush Viper'..... Oh no panic over... reading a bit further 'Hairy Bush' is it's appearance not it's prey...........
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Tuesday 27th July 2010 13:25 GMT Anonymous Coward
Why so scared?
Are they possibly related to that Surrey accountant who was left feeling like 'a prisoner in her own home', after a fox took up occupation in her garden, at the height of the Metro's series of fox scare-stories a month or two back? Seriously, I'd feel privileged to have a fox or wild adder/grasssnake (they're bloody rare!) things in my garden. Might even watch it for a while, take some photos, and see if it wanted a bounce on a trampoline... :D
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Tuesday 27th July 2010 23:58 GMT Arctic fox
Emergency measures
"We like the idea of an "unverified potential adder sighting". Presumably, when East Riding Council gets a "verified existent adder sighting", it breaks the wax seal on its ophidian emergency protocol and sends in the helicopter gunships."
Personally speaking I would feel much more secure if they simply took off and nuked it from orbit.
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Thursday 29th July 2010 09:26 GMT Stuart Halliday
Phee Wheee.
Grass snakes have three forms of defence.
1. They try to run away.
2. They release a couple of drops of really _totally_ foul smelling liquid that you don't want to get on you.
3. They can bite but it's not worth making a fuss about.
Adders do the same too, but their bite is a little worse, about the same as a bee sting. So unless you're the rare individual who is allergic to it and so may need hospital attention, then for god sake take a step back and let it go about its business.
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Friday 30th July 2010 15:57 GMT Michael O'Malley
Snakes aren't slippery
See above. Why does everyone confuse them with worms?
If you've never held a snake, it's warm and dry to the touch, not slippery or slimy. Try running your hand along the inside of your arm. That's what it feels like.
No, dear, I don't mean you must take the hand off. Rub it along the inside of the opposite arm
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Biting the hand that feeds IT
