A Sydney dad got a little more than he bargained for during a grocery run this week, finding a note alerting him to the fact a snake was hiding in his car.
David Mantellini had just left Coles in Manly, on the city's Northern Beaches, on Monday to find a crowd of 50-plus people gathered around his vehicle.
Then he saw the note on his windscreen.
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"Hi car owner, there's a python in your front left wheel," it read.
"The jewellers opposite are trying to contact wildlife rescue."
Looking down, Mantelli did indeed see scales peeking out from the hubcap of his wheel.
He and his wife Nicola had welcomed their second daughter five days earlier and had been discharged from hospital earlier that morning.
They had planned to introduce their newborn Olivia to their toddler Luna when the day took a turn.
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"He was faced with the dilemma of waiting for animal rescue or heading off to collect our daughter," Nicola, who is from the United Kingdom, told 9news.com.au.
"Quick-thinking locals helped him out, with the nearby sushi restaurant taking the car key until police arrived.
"Another lady bundled our car seat into her car so the toddler pick-up and new baby intro could go ahead as planned."
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Nicola said it was unclear whether the snake was an escaped pet, but it was released on Manly's North Head.
"The snake was safely removed, and the two sisters had a beautiful first meeting and it was sushi for dinner," she said.
"But not quite the day we had expected."
According to Australian Museum, the species could have been a diamond python, which is found in large bushland areas and national parks of Sydney.
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