WE all crave our freedom, and a certain slithery serpent decided last week that captivity wasn’t quite his cup of tea and broke free into the world! 

Although that may sound like the storyline of an inspiring Disney film, local residents in Tilburg, the Netherlands, perhaps didn’t see it quite that way, as police described the runaway as ‘extremely venomous’. Yikes. 

Fear spread through the city, and police warned residents to stay indoors and under no circumstances attempt to ensnare the serpent. As if anybody was planning that one. 

Police in Tilburg explained that they were alerted by the owner who said that “he was missing a snake.” There was subsequently a wanted poster issued, complete with a mugshot of the coiled green mamba and titled by police: “The snake is very dangerous.”

However, in a shocking, and somewhat amusing turn of events, it has been discovered that the oh so feared creature actually never left his home. 

The escaped snake had even made national news in the Netherlands, despite media competition from a historic election, and authorities had deployed sniffer dogs and snake experts in vain for days. 

As residents cowered in their homes in panic of a surprise attack, last Friday, November 24, a phone call was received from the owner who informed authorities that he had found the snake behind a plaster wall in his home.

Well, all’s well that ends well as they say! Does anybody else feel slightly sorry for the snake?