Slippery customer! Bizarre moment man walks into shop with a SNAKE draped like a scarf around his neck
- Bob Russell, 66, was working at Cigs and Papers Tobacconist in Norwich, Norfolk
- A young male customer came in with a snake draped over his neck ‘like a scarf’
- While chatting, the man removed the reptile and placed it on the counter
- He introduced the snake as ‘Bob’, before leaving without buying anything
A shopkeeper was left ‘flabbergasted’ when a customer popped in to buy some tobacco – with a large snake casually draped around his neck.
Bob Russell, 66, was working his usual morning shift on Saturday, when a rather unusual customer came in, with the lengthy reptile wrapped around his neck.
The young male customer then placed his pet snake – called Bob – on the counter while he browsed the shop.
Footage from the shop’s CCTV cameras shows the man enter the shop, Cigs and Papers Tobacconist in Norwich, Norfolk, and start asking Mr Russell about their tobacco.
Meanwhile, the snake’s head stretches towards a display of chocolate bars in front of the counter.
Mr Russell continues to chat to the customer about their range of tobacco, seemingly unaware of the snake – until the man removes the creature from his neck and places it on the counter.
Bob Russell, 66, was working at Cigs and Papers Tobacconist in Norwich, Norfolk, when a customer walked in with a large snake draped around his neck looking to buy some tobacco
It is only as the snake begins to slither around on the counter – almost a minute after the man entered the shop – that Mr Russell seems to notice the animal, and draws his hand back away from it.
The shop manager can be seen laughing in surprise as his odd customer goes to pick up the snake off the counter top.
Mr Russell, who has worked in the shop for 11 years, said: ‘It was just really bizarre. I was flabbergasted for words – it was just the surprise of it all.
CCTV shows the man asking Mr Russell about their tobacco. Meanwhile, the snake’s head stretches towards a display of chocolate bars in front of the counter
‘I thought the man came in wearing a scarf around his neck, simple as that. When customers walk in, you look at them but you don’t really stand and stare.
‘I was lifting up the flaps that we keep the tobacco behind, so I wasn’t really looking at him.
‘Then he went in his pocket to get a tobacco pouch out, and he put the snake on the counter.
It is only as the snake begins to slither around on the counter – almost a minute after the man entered the shop – that Mr Russell seems to notice the animal, and draws his hand back from it
Mr Russell, who has worked in the shop for 11 years, said: ‘It was just really bizarre. I was flabbergasted for words – it was just the surprise of it all’
‘It was quite a lively thing, it wasn’t docile. When he put it down it started to slither on top of the counter, and that’s when I thought, “oh my god”.
‘It was longer than my arm span if I spread both my arms out wide.
‘When it started to slither he picked it back up again.
‘Then he said to me, “By the way, his name is Bob”. I wasn’t sure if it was a joke because he had seen my name.
The mysterious then introduces the animal as ‘Bob’, as it continues to slither over the counter and onto several products
He then picks the snake up and leaves without buying anything. While he told Mr Russell he would come back in later, the shop keeper said he did not return to the shop again
‘He left without buying anything. He said he’d come back in later for the tobacco, and then off he went down the street with the snake around his neck.’
Mr Russell said the customer did not return to the shop after that.
He added: ‘I didn’t really react to it at the time – it was only afterwards that I thought about how surprising it was.’