McDonald’s branch forced to close after customer brings in live insects to feed pet snake

A McDonald’s was forced to close after a customer brought in live insects to feed a pet snake.

The branch in The Drove Retail Park, Newhaven, East Sussex, was closed for several hours on Friday as pest control experts were brought in.

It is currently unclear whether the pet snake was also taken into the branch at the seaside resort.

Users reacted to the events on social media with one saying ‘this is the worst McDonald’s we have ever been to before the bug incident, we used it a few times before we caught the ferry.’

Another added: “Who decides, ‘I’m going to take my snake to a restaurant to feed it its own food.’ But then again, it’s Newhaven.’

People were also confused if snakes were supposed to eat insects at all.

One person commented: ‘Pretty sure snakes don’t eat bugs?’

Another added: ‘Snakes don’t eat insects so did the person take the snake in maccies?? Whatever went in there is not hygienic.’

A McDonald’s spokesman said: ‘On Friday evening we were made aware that a customer had entered our Newhaven restaurant with live insects to feed a pet snake.

‘As soon as we were made aware of it, we closed the restaurant and asked the customer to leave.

‘We reopened later in the evening after carrying out a thorough cleaning of the restaurant.

‘Pest control experts have been called to the restaurant today to carry out precautionary checks.’

MailOnline has contacted McDonald’s for further comment.

It is not the first time that a McDonald’s branch has encountered a snake.

In August 2022, a five-foot boa constrictor was found roaming a restaurant in Bognor Regis, West Sussex – just an hour from Newhaven.

Restaurant workers wrapped up the snake and called the RSPCA.

They thought the snake was a native British viper that had been injured in a road accident, but it turned out to be a boa constrictor, a large, non-venomous snake found in tropical South America, as well as some islands in the Caribbean.

RSPCA Inspector Hannah Nixon said at the time: ‘Based on the report that was called in, I was expecting a viper, which is a fairly common native British snake.

‘But when I looked in the box I was confronted with a whopping 5ft of boa constrictor – a full, non-native snake and not at all what I was expecting.

‘The poor animal looked like he’d been in the war for a bit, with a few scratches and cuts, so I’ve taken him to our Stubbington Ark animal center in Fareham, Hampshire to have him checked out.’