When drainage companies conduct CCTV surveys of a drain or sewer, they are usually looking for the cause of a blockage, so it came as a bit of a surprise to a CCTV survey operator from Wessex Water when a grass snake appeared on her CCTV images.
Drain maintenance workers were cleaning a 67 year old sewer when they came across the reptile in Calne, Wiltshire. It’s thought the snake had most likely ventured into the sewer in search of prey such as toads or frogs.
The CCTV and flow surveyor Roz Trotman said:
“It was the first time a snake had ever been seen in our sewers. We were all very shocked to see the footage.
“We use CCTV in over 124 miles of our sewerage system and often find creatures such as bats, rats and toads. We will all be on the look out for the snake when we watch any future footage,”
Wessex Water is currently in the middle of an improvements programme in the region, where they will be spending approximately £500m over the next few years.