Police rescue 12ft python spotted slithering along West Bromwich street

This is the terrifying moment a 12ft python was spotted slithering along a residential street in the Black Country - before three police officers managed to catch it.

Cops were called after a shocked resident spotted the huge reptile in Harwood Street, West Bromwich at around 1.30am today (Tue).

Officers arrived to discover the 12ft (3.6m) yellow python - one of world’s biggest snakes which are native to Southeast Asia - in the middle of the road.

But with the RSPCA unable to attend due to the time of the call, it took three brave response officers to step in to rescue it. After putting a bag over its head and ushering it into a police van, the slippery suspect was taken to a vets to be checked over.

A West Midlands Police spokesperson said: “Our officers are not easily rattled when it comes to responding to unusual calls as we deal with a huge variety of incidents.

“Just after 1.30am this morning we received a call from a member of the public that a 12 foot yellow python was slithering on Harwood Street, West Bromwich. While RSPCA colleagues would usually handle this situation they were not able to attend due to the time of the call so some of our brave response officers stepped in.

“We managed to safely rescue the snake and get it into our van without too many slips and slides. The snake was then transferred to a nearby veterinary hospital for overnight care.”

The hair-raising encounter is not the first time West Midlands Police officers have had to rescue a snake in recent months.

Back in June, officers on patrol were left shocked to come across a boa constrictor in Aston, Birmingham. Three officers bravely ushered the reptile into a pillow case with the help of a broom at the side of the road.

Yellow Burmese pythons can grow up to 16ft (5m) long and mainly eat birds and mammals, but also amphibians and reptiles. It is non-venomous and kills its prey with sharp teeth before wrapping its body around the animal to kill it through constriction.

After the force shared images of the rescue on social media, local residents branded it a “real-life nightmare.” One resident commented: “No way would you see me going near a 12ft python in the middle of the night. Real-life nightmare right there.” Another said: “Absolutely not I’m moving away” while a third added: “Wtf lol.. glad i didn’t go out and see it.”