Slithery bar patron sparks panic in Sydney

  • 19/10/2016
Slithery bar patron sparks panic in Sydney

There was panic in Sydney's CBD on Tuesday afternoon when a venomous snake was spotted outside a hotel.

It was eventually trapped on George St after staff closed the doors and windows and quickly called police.

The 1.5-metre red-bellied black snake gave pedestrians and bar patrons quite the shock as it soaked in the city sun.

"I made sure there was a beeline to the other side of the road, ready to run away if it turned my way," one pedestrian said.

It remains unknown how the deadly snake found its way onto the busy street.

Police and professional snake handler Harley Jones were called in to deal with it.

"To have a red-bellied black of that size, in the middle of the street, [it's] very unusual," Mr Jones said.

"Someone has hit it with a shovel or it's been hit by a car maybe."

The injured snake was taken to the vet and while it was bleeding at the time of arrival, none of the injuries were considered life-threatening.

"There's no evidence of fractures in the spine - so that's a good sign," said Dr Michelle Dalli, the vet who treated the snake.

George, as the staff now calls him, has been kept under observation and pending further health checks, he could be released back into the wild.

As for how George ended up on George St, that remains the biggest mystery of all.

Channel 7 News