Slippery customer: The four-foot-long snake, pictured, has been evading capture for days and was last seen heading up a drainpipeA potentially deadly snake is on the loose after evading a police helicopter which was scrambled to track it down.
Residents are on the lookout for a 4ft-long constrictor which has been spotted slithering along pavements in Plymouth, Devon.
The reptile was briefly captured by three people who trapped it in a bin - but is so strong that it forced its way out and vanished up an elderly lady's drainpipe.
Unusual measures: Devon and Cornwall Police diverted a helicopter in a failed bid to track the roving reptile downA police helicopter equipped with thermal imagine gear was diverted to scour the area on Saturday, but the elusive snake - nicknamed 'Hissing Sid' by locals - remains at large.
Therapist Bernard Brotherton, 53, was one of three local residents who captured the creature in a knee-high swing-bin last Thursday, before it slipped from their grasp.
Ironically the dad-of one had been guzzling Snakebite - a cocktail of lager and cider - moments before the drama unfolded.
He said of the escapade: 'It seemed like the sensible thing to do, but it was so strong it would wrap itself around the rim of the lid and squeeze itself through the top like toothpaste.
Watch your step! 'Hissing Sid' has been spotted slithering along a pavement in Keyham, Plymouth'We got it in about three times but even with six hands pushing down on the lid it was too powerful.
'It was getting angry so we backed off, and at that point it decided to pop up the drainpipe.'
Vets, environmental health experts, the police, the RSPCA and a local animal centre have all attended the scene over the weekend, but the snake has not been spotted since Saturday.
source: dailymail
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