Deadly giant SNAILS are found at busy London bus stop

2022-07-16

Deadly giant 8-inch giant African SNAILS are found abandoned at busy London bus stop

The Giant African land snails were spotted roaming near London Bridge railway
They had been abandoned in a cardboard box near a bus stop before escaping
Species of snail can carry deadly parasites and can cause meningitis in humans
The potentially deadly duo have been rescued and are waiting for a new home

Giant deadly snails have been discovered making their way down a busy street in the middle of the UK capital.

The monster-sized 8in African land snails were spotted roaming the pavement in London near London Bridge railway station after escaping from a cardboard box.

The creatures had been dumped at a bus stop in the lettuce-filled cardboard box before they made their escape.

Giant African land snails can carry potentially deadly parasites and can transmit the rat lungworm parasite that can cause deadly meningitis in humans.

The creatures had been dumped at a bus stop in the lettuce-filled cardboard box before they made their escape (Stock image)

The species, which feed almost constantly, are also considered to be one of the most dangerous pests in agriculture, and have been known to eat farmer’s crops including cocoa, peanuts, bananas and cauliflower.

In the US, officials have been forced to hunt down the creatures in Florida after the species began taking over the New Port Richey area.

Over 1,000 of the snails have been captured in the area since June 23.

In London, the snails were spotted by Jamie-Lee McEvoy who said they were ‘the size of [his] arms.’

‘I thought I was seeing things,’ the 20-year-old told The Sun. ‘Everyone was wondering where they’d come from. But no one knew what to do or wanted to touch them.’

The huge snails were collected at London Bridge by wildlife volunteer Beth Crivelli, who took the pair home in a damp towel.

‘They’re living with me in a proper sealed box until I can find someone to adopt them, she said.

The species, which feed almost constantly, are also considered to be one of the most dangerous pests in agriculture

Giant African land snails can carry potentially deadly parasites and can transmit the rat lungworm parasite that can cause deadly meningitis in humans

‘They would have died crawling along the streets in this heat.’

The country is preparing itself for the hottest day ever in recorded history with the Met Office predicting temperatures of 106F or 41C. which will see temperatures sore to their highest levels next week amid a red weather warning.

The unprecedented weather warning states there is an 80 per cent chance of temperatures beating the current record of 101.7F set in 2019 in Cambridge.

Met Office spokesman Grahame Madge said there is a 50 per cent chance of temperatures reaching 40C somewhere in the UK, likely along the A1 corridor.

The UK Health Security Agency has increased its heat health warning from level three to level four – a ‘national emergency’.

Level four is reached ‘when a heatwave is so severe and/or prolonged that its effects extend outside the health and social care system…. At this level, illness and death may occur among the fit and healthy, and not just in high-risk groups’, it said.

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