An abandoned house said to be infested with ‘snakes and underground bees’ in the garden has finally been sold.
The next door neighbour’s grandson Mohammad Kara spoke of how the house had been empty for over three years since the previous occupiers, an elderly couple, died.
He told Gloucestershire Live there had been “all sorts of creepy-crawlies coming out” in the past three years, which included “underground bees” and there was “bound to have snakes in there”.
Neil Kelly, who works for Steve Gooch Estate Agents, sold the empty Gloucester house for an undisclosed fee and the overgrown wildlife is now being maintained.
Mr Kelly said: “It will be a family home again which will be good for the area. At the moment, it’s just going through with the new buyer.”
Asked about the restorative work that would be needed to the property in Barton, Mr Kelly said: “I have seen a lot worse.
"I think the outside is probably worse than the inside."
He said there was no wildlife or forestry in the inside and it was “just a bit dated”.
This will come as a relief to “stressed out” next door neighbour Marium Patel, 84, whose garden fence was taken over by the wildlife and regularly had foxes visiting, who were also attracted to the leafy habitat.
In recent months, barriers appeared outside property whilst work was being undertaken to chop down the vines and bushes growing across the house.
Nicola Simpson, Engagement Manager at Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, said there were potentially grass snakes or someone’s escaped pet had taken habitat in the garden.
Although she added it was more likely to be slow worms nesting in there, a type of legless lizard.
Miss Simpson said: “What we most likely see in gardens and urban areas are slow worms.
"They look a little bit like snakes. They’re much smaller. They’re legless lizards.”
Find out about the differences between snakes and legless lizards here.
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