Window let Crusher slither to freedom

BEN SPENCER . . . brother of Harvey, Crusher’s owner

THE owner of a boa constrictor which was discovered by a council gardener believes his pet may have escaped through a first-floor window.

Harvey Spencer was called out on Wednesday night and when he returned he found that his three-year-old snake, Crusher, was missing.

The 33-year-old, who lives in Raleigh Close, Coldhurst, where the snake was found on Thursday, believes it slithered out of his lounge window and made its way down to the ground with the help of the drainpipes.

“They move really quickly,” said Harvey. “I had a break-in recently, so I’ve not been able to shut the window completely. But I never thought he’d get out.

“Crusher normally lives in big glass box on my landing, but you’ve got to let them roam about now and again.

“It’s just unlucky that I had to leave at short notice and couldn’t get him back in his box before I left.”

When Harvey discovered that Crusher was missing he immediately launched a search with his brother Ben in an attempt to trace the runaway.

He said: “I was absolutely gutted when I realised Crusher had gone. I’ve had him for about a year and he’s like one of the family.

“I took in Crusher after my friend asked me to look after him because his girlfriend was having a baby and he didn’t think it would suit to have a snake in the house.”

Ben (34), also of Raleigh Close, said: “We searched everywhere. We were even going up trees.

“We didn’t know anything about him being found until we read the Chronicle and Harvey can’t wait to be reunited with Crusher.”

Boa constrictors, which are generally found in South and Central America, can reach 13ft in length.

They tend to hunt small mammals and birds, which they kill by suffocating them, but Harvey insists that Crusher is placid.

“He’s really gentle and he wouldn’t hurt a fly,” he said.