London - If the thought of a spot of DIY fills you with dread, then spare a thought for Ruth Summerbell.
The 33-year-old set out to assemble Argos flatpack furniture, only to discover a dead snake inside the cardboard packaging.
The bank manager, from Yeovil, thinks that the snake slithered inside the box for the chest of drawers, which cost £78.99 (about R1 500), before it was sent from South America.
She said: “The furniture has come from Brazil and I also have a wardrobe to come from them as well.
“It was a really unusual situation, it looks like a baby python but I would imagine it was probably twice the size when it slithered into the box after feeding and then it obviously died and dried up during transport.
“I was shocked and I thought I was seeing things.
“When I was unwrapping the box I thought it was alive to start with because it was moving with the wrapping. It’s like a dried-up crispy thing.
“It was terrifying and I absolutely hate snakes. You could tell it had eaten before because it had a large bulge in its tummy.”
Miss Summerbell said that Argos initially had not seemed to believe her when she called to complain, but she has now been offered a £30 discount on furniture and given an apology from the firm.
She said: “They have now offered me a full refund of my furniture.
“But I’m not sure I want another Argos box inside my house.
“I don’t think they’ve dealt with it very well. At first they thought I was a hoax caller and they didn’t actually take me seriously until a few days after the drawers had arrived. They thought I was a joke.
“It’s one of my worst nightmares to have a snake in my house. This sort of thing has never happened to me before.”
Argos did not respond to a request comment.
Daily Mail