Daily Star

6ft boa’s on loose

- ■ by ADELA WHITTINGHA­M adela.whittingha­m@dailystar.co.uk

RESIDENTS in a seaside town have been warned to watch out after a giant boa constricto­r snake escaped.

Owner Elliot Salvage, 18, noticed that his pet Lola had disappeare­d last week and has now issued a public appeal to find it.

The reptile – a Brazilian rainbow breed – is around 6ft long and “as thick as a tennis ball”.

Student Elliot said the snake is “harmless” and has asked locals in Westonsupe­r-mare, Somerset, to keep an eye out.

He said: “She won’t survive for very long if she is out in the wild and I am desperate to find her.”

A Three-year-old meets the hedgehog that crept into her bed and chomped on her foot in the night.

Care worker Chelsey Fowler was woken by daughter Elsie’s screams and pulled back the covers to find the animal clamped to her toe.

Chelsey, 32, said: “It was quarter past four in the morning and my daughter was in bed with me and she woke up screaming and holding her leg.

“In a blind panic, I grabbed her leg to find out what was wrong, and this hedgehog was hanging off her baby toe.

“I panicked because I didn’t expect there to be a hedgehog.

“I pushed it off her foot and it scarpered under the wardrobe.

“Elsie was absolutely hysterical, bless her. She’d never seen a hedgehog before or even knew what it was.”

The tot needed a tetanus shot and has been on antibiotic­s. Chelsey, of Stratford-uponavon, Warks, has no idea how the critter got into her home and avoided her two cats.

Local rescue charity Hedgehog Friendly Town said it was not the first they had heard of one climbing stairs this year.

A spokesman said: “We have had three that have found their way into houses, two of which ended up upstairs. They are great climbers.

“This female may have been looking for a place to nest as it’s baby season at the moment.”

 ??  ?? MEET & GREET: Elsie takes a look at the hedgehog which bit her
INJURY: Cuts to Elsie’s little toe from the animal’s teeth
SHOCK: With mum
MEET & GREET: Elsie takes a look at the hedgehog which bit her INJURY: Cuts to Elsie’s little toe from the animal’s teeth SHOCK: With mum
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