Toddler bitten in face by snake at Sutton pet shop (From Your Local Guardian)

Toddler bitten in face by snake at Sutton pet shop

6:30am Friday 28th May 2010 in Top Stories By Claire Fox

Trauma: Kelly Crook’s daughter Dannii was bitten by a corn snake like the one above right

A two-year-old girl has been left traumatised after being bitten by a snake in a Sutton pet shop.

Dannii Crook-Cotty and her mum, Kelly Crook, were shopping for a hamster in Petsville International in Sutton High Street.

Dannii was playing with bird food in the store when the snake attacked her on Friday, May 14.

Miss Crook, 33, of Dorchester Road, said: “We turned around and she was screaming and shaking with blood coming out of her mouth. It was horrible.

“The snake was standing upright on the floor in front of her.”

The snake was orange and has since been identified as a corn snake. Miss Crook said it was about 1m long.

Miss Crook said she thought the snake must have been eating the bird food before it attacked. It bit Dannii on her bottom lip, causing the lip to swell and bleed.

She said: "I had to run out the back and get help. The manager came out and I asked him to call an ambulance.

"When they came they said they needed to call the police because it was treated in the same way as a dog bite.

"The hospital got her on strong antibiotics because they said the snake might have germs and might not have had the right injections."

Miss Crook said Dannii was now too petrified to go into pet shops.

She said: “We went to one the other day and we had to coax her inside.

“Also, we have a hamster at home and usually Dannii will put the feed in for them herself, letting them take it from her hand, but now she is too afraid.”

Miss Crook called trading standards on the advice of the police. She claimed she was told the incident is not the pet shop’s fault.

It is understood the snake may have been dropped on the floor and did not belong to Petsville.

Ms Crook said Petsville told her someone had tried to sell the snake a week earlier, but could not buy it because it was too big and it may have been abandoned there later.

Miss Crook said: “I cannot believe I am being told it is not Petsville’s snake and that is the end of the matter.”

A spokesman form Sutton Council said it was investigating the matter. No one from Petsville would comment.