Snake rescued after being trapped in car engine for 20 miles

By Adam Dutton

A 2-foot-long snake was rescued after traveling 20 miles trapped inside a Ford Fiesta engine.

The stunned driver called police after he parked his car and spotted the snake slithering out of the headlight and across the hood.

Officers alerted animal rescue expert Dave Bigsby, who raced to the scene in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, on Saturday, June 13.

He opened the hood to discover the snake coiled firmly around the engine block with its head coming out of the front light.

The driver had traveled 20 miles from Bridlington with the snake under the hood.

Bigsby, 52, who runs Lilly’s Reptile Rescue, said: “Some passersby spotted it and the driver rang 101.

“The police put them in touch with myself. I got there within 10 minutes but the snake had vanished.

“I rang 101 and then they chased the owner who came back and opened the hood for us.

“It was wrapped up in the engine bay, you can’t pull on them too much for the fear of damaging them.

“It was a case of holding onto it and waiting — I was doing that for nearly two hours.

“The Ford Fiesta had traveled from Bridlington to Scarborough which is about 20 miles.

“When it parked up it came out onto the hood and that’s when the members of the public spotted it.

“It must have slithered under the car, up into the hood and stuck on the right-hand strut spring at the back of the engine bay.

"It traveled some distance, it’s a miracle it didn’t get squashed."

Bigsby spent two hours freeing the animal and has now managed to track down the relieved owner.

He added: “I got back and tagged a lot of pages on Facebook.

"Someone got in touch and we verified the owner comparing his picture to markings on the snake. He’s coming next week to collect it.

“This has got to be one of the most unusual places to find a snake.”

Corn snakes, also known as red rat snakes, originate in North America and can grow up to 180 centimeters (70 inches) long.