Snake spotted swimming in UK river by shocked onlooker

Those with a fear of snakes look away now because one has been spotted swimming in a river… in the UK.

The grass snake was seen swimming along the River Derwent in Belper, Derbyshire, on Monday.

In better news, it is the first time a grass snake has been spotted in the area since 2017 and has been welcomed by a wildlife trust.

The snake was spotted by Johnathan Brocklehurst who told the BBC: ‘I decided to have a look over the River Derwent as there were lots of baby fish to see and then all of a sudden I spotted the grass snake swimming across the river towards me.

‘I quickly got my mobile out, clicked on record and couldn’t believe my eyes. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen such a lovely creature in an open area. It was so exciting to see it.’

Kieron Huston, from Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, said: ‘It’s really great that we’ve had an observation.

The snake was spotted swimming along the River Derwent in Belper, Derbyshire, on Monday (Picture: Jonathan Brocklehurst)

According to Derbyshire Wildlife Trust this is good news (Picture: Jonathan Brocklehurst)

‘I think the size of grass snakes sometimes alarms people but they are completely harmless to us.’

This is not the first time a snake has been spotted in or by a river in the UK.

A walker stumbled across an 8ft long jungle snake on a river bank in Ipswich, Suffolk, in 2020.

The python was dead and is believed to have been dumped in the river near the Orwell Bridge by someone who no longer wanted it.

There were no injuries but there was a plastic sack in which it may have been placed, condemned to slowly die from the freezing cold.

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‘I couldn’t believe my eyes.’