A teenager is recovering after being bitten by a snake being brandished by a gang in Bradley Stoke.
The incident, which took place on Merryweather Close, took place on Saturday afternoon, is now being investigated by police.
Great Western Ambulance Service were called after the teen was “pinned to a wall” and the snake then forced to bite its victim.
A police spokesman said the 14-year-old boy was subjected to racist abuse during the incident.
He was taken to nearby Frenchay Hospital for treatment to his arm and for help with breathing problems.
Incident support officer Michael Howells said: “In order to try and identify the type of snake I Googled ‘snakes’ on my mobile to show the patient.
He was reasonably sure he could identify the type, so I sent the image to our control room.”
The control room then contacted Bristol Zoo who said it was probably a non-venomous type of python.
Mr Howells added: “Although the patient was suffering breathing difficulties after the attack, this was probably due to panic rather than a reaction to the bite – I would probably be panicky if that happened to me.”
The RSPCA are also thought to be involved in the investigation into the incident.
Updated to include police information.
11 responses so far ↓
1 Mark // Aug 9, 2009 at 4:23 pm
Unbelievable !!
What the hell is happening to this town !
Isn’t it about time the police sorted out these thugs !
2 bev and mike fisher // Aug 9, 2009 at 10:01 pm
are not happy with this at all happening in there street exspeailly the racsiam????????????hope to god you havent knocked on our door.just a few phone calls and we will no who u r.this is not funny at all.
3 Patchway Bloke // Aug 10, 2009 at 2:01 am
About time the youth was reigned in. Be it Bradley Stoke, Little Stoke, Patchway…….
Any of it. About time we cracked down on the filthly little chavs who need it. I wish we could deal with the parents actions, but we can’t, sadly.
4 K // Aug 10, 2009 at 7:19 am
Time to deal harshly with these horrible little sods!!!
Its not always the parents who can be blamed. My lad went to school with a horrible little kid – his parents were lovely. They were very upset and at the end of their tether with the kid.
5 Steve // Aug 10, 2009 at 8:12 am
Whatever next??? These criminals should be HARSHY dealt with, not only for what they have done, but to set a precedent for any the future.
The government need to take a look at the current laws around ownership of such dangerous animals and make them licensable or banned for public ownership.
I couldn’t believe it when I switched on the news and saw Bradley Stoke as headline news, for all the wrong reasons. With all that has been going on recently, things seem to be getting worse and worse in BS….
6 C // Aug 10, 2009 at 3:42 pm
Seems to me that since the new shopping centre opened Bradley Stoke has become a bad place to live. Before it was opened, I always felt it was a safe place to live – now I don’t. Its not just this – a man was knifed a few weeks ago and a woman was attacked in the car park at the shopping centre last week. What is happening? Where are the police?
7 K // Aug 11, 2009 at 7:29 am
So according to the Evening Post this incident happened in Patchway not Bradley Stoke.
Obviously Geography is not the paper’s strongpoint. Maybe someone should check these things before putting the reports in the paper.
The Avenue was the ‘venue’ for this incident, ie Old Patchway. Dare I say its a small council estate. Enough said.
8 Steve // Aug 11, 2009 at 2:18 pm
No, it was definately BS.
9 Beatty // Aug 13, 2009 at 2:54 pm
Points West said it was Patchway common
10 H // Aug 13, 2009 at 4:10 pm
This is just horrible and the fact that it was racially motivated makes it all the more sickening. Let’s hope that these mindless morons get what they deserve.
11 Chris (editor) // Aug 19, 2009 at 4:28 pm
Hi everyone,
I’ve had to remove a few comments from this story. Please be aware if you are making comments of the legal implications. Even if you believe you can prove what you’re saying, it’ll be me that ends up in court!
Cheers,
Chris
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