Residents Shaken After Large Snake Found in Pankhurst Avenue Block

Snake encounter on school run

Residents at 89 Pankhurst Avenue in Brighton have raised concerns about safety after a large escaped snake was found on the building's communal stairwell. A mother taking her two young children to school around 7.30am on 14 September encountered the animal coiled on the stairs.

The resident said her daughter was so frightened that she almost fell down the steps. With no alternative route out of the building, the family crept carefully past the snake before leaving. "My daughter almost fell down the stairs with fright," the mother said. "It just didn't seem real."

The resident described the moment she noticed the snake's movement. "I thought, 'Oh my God, I'm so scared'," she said. "I didn't know if it would chase us or come after us. It looked like it was asleep, but then I saw its tongue flicking out."

Concerns over handling and response

When the mother returned from school, maintenance workers told her they had placed the snake in a box, and a resident claimed and removed it. However, she was not informed who owned it or how it had entered the building.

The mother reported the incident to Southern Housing, which manages the block. The housing association initially said it would refer the matter to relevant teams for urgent investigation to establish how the snake entered the communal area.

After the resident escalated the matter on 29 September, noting she had not been informed of any practical action taken, Southern Housing declined to accept it as a formal complaint. The company said there had been "no identified service failure", although it passed her concerns to its housing management team for further investigation.

Ongoing anxiety for residents

The mother remains concerned that the animal could escape again. "Now, every time I go down the stairs, I think about the snake," she said. "I don't feel safe living here now. It's a safety issue for everyone who lives here. If they're going to allow a snake to live here, they should warn all the residents. If it can escape once, it can get out again. I'm living in fear."

Another resident also encountered the snake during the same school run that morning and had to usher his children past it. He believed the animal belonged to someone in the block but said residents had not been warned about its presence.

The snake was believed to be a ball python.

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