By Kirsty Topping
STUNNED shoppers were greeted by a slippery customer when a man took his pet snake to the supermarket.
Chaz Watson strolled into Asda in Dundee with his boa constrictor Gismo draped round his neck.
Petrified shoppers looked on in horror as the 46-year-old wandered round the store before being asked to leave by management.
Last night, the store slapped a ban on Gismo, telling Mr Watson they are “not a safari”.
Mr Watson claimed he made the trip to test the store’s ‘no dog’ policy “to the limit”.
Customer Cory Campbell who was in the store when the five-year-old, 6ft reptile made its visit on Sunday afternoon.
He said: “I am absolutely terrified of snakes and there was this snake’s head just about two feet away from me.”
Mr Watson said his pet posed no danger to other shoppers and that he did not know what all the fuss was about.
“It was a sunny day and snakes like the heat so I thought I’d bring him out with me,” he said. “I just went to do my shopping and was leaving Asda anyway when security came up to me.
“It will not go near anybody if it is around my neck. It is not a problem.”
After leaving the supermarket Mr Watson, who bought Gismo in December, went to a nearby B&Q to buy compost, where he says he received a much warmer welcome with staff and customers being intrigued rather than alarmed.
Managers at both stores confirmed the unwelcome visit but declined to comment further.
A spokeswoman for Asda said: “We’d kindly ask Mr Watson to leave Gismo the snake at home in future, after all we’re a supermarket not a safari”
