Colwick: Man who found 6ft snake describes ‘panic stations’ moment.

A man has spoken of the moment he discovered a large snake near a Nottinghamshire park.

Sean Dirrane was walking his dog near Colwick Country Park on Thursday evening when he saw what he thought was a branch on a footpath.

He said: “I thought ‘it looks like a snake’ and then it moved and I was a bit like ‘panic stations’.”

“I’m 6ft 2in and he was a lot bigger than me. God knows how long he’s been living in the woods and I hope he’s the only one out there.”

Mr Dirrane, 31, who lives in the area, said: “Luckily my dog ​​didn’t notice.

“I have a medium sized dog but this snake was around the circumference of my leg so it was big enough to knock it down.

“What would I have done if they caught him? Fight a snake to free the dog? That’s not a situation I wanted or expected to be in!”

Mr Dirrane called the police who, after being convinced it was not a prank, sent two officers.

A spokesman for Nottinghamshire Police said: “Colleagues from the police and the RSPCA were called into action following a report that a 6m long snake had been seen slithering along a path in Colwick Country Park.

“The snake, believed to be a non-venomous boa imperator, was encountered shortly before 4pm on Thursday.

“A local reptile centre, which was alerted to the surprise discovery, attended and safely recovered the snake.”