Bunnings customers forced to flee after 'unusual' find in store
A shopper was shocked to find the dangerous animal among the gardening items at one store.
There's not much you can't get at Bunnings and that was evident for shoppers recently when a red-bellied black snake was spotted in among the pallets of plant soil — giving customers and staff quite a fright.
The almost metre-long venomous snake was found by a member of the public at the Kawana store, on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, on Monday. Workers were notified promptly, and staff were praised by the snake catcher who was called to help relocate it. The snake was kept out of harm's way while customers were also diverted.
"Bunnings workers did a great job to keep an eye on the snake. There's obviously a lot of stuff inside Bunnings for it to hide under but they were able to keep it in the one area," Sunshine Coast Snake Catcher Stuart McKenzie told Yahoo.
Despite the watchful eye of staff, McKenzie admitted it took him 40 minutes to locate the snake as its surroundings made it very easy to hide, with the snake catcher eventually having to get on his hands and knees and crawl on the floor to catch it.
'Not common' to get a snake in Bunnings
The snake catcher admitted he has rescued a snake from a Bunnings store before but said it's "not that common", enjoying the moment two Aussie icons came together on Monday.
"There's often a bit of bush and Bunnings usually have an open fence in the back so they'll come into the timber yard or wherever, but it's not that common," McKenzie said.
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After successfully catching it he took the snake to the bush and released it, but not without the snake receiving a firm telling off first.
"You naughty snake, not allowed in Bunnings anymore," he said in the video as the snake slithered away.
Red-bellied black snakes are one of the most frequently encountered snakes along Australia's east coast and their venom can be fatal. However, there are no recorded deaths from bites of this species.
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