A man has been spotted appearing to use a snake as a face mask while travelling on a bus.
The passenger boarded the bus with the large reptile wrapped around his neck and mouth as a bizarre covering.
One passenger said she thought the man was wearing a “funky mask” before she spotted it slithering over the hand rails.
The 46-year-old passenger, on the bus Swinton to Manchester, said the sight was “definitely entertaining”.
She said: “He had it wrapped around his face like a mask getting on the bus.
“No one was really bothered on the bus but a man behind took a video. It was definitely entertaining.”
She said she found the incident “really funny” and that the animal did not seem to be bothering any of her fellow passengers, saying: “No-one batted an eyelid”.
Wearing a mask on public transport is mandatory, except for those who are exempt.
Transport bosses have since been forced to clarify that "snakeskin – especially when still attached to the snake" is not considered a face covering.
A Transport for Greater Manchester spokesperson said: “Government guidance clearly states that this needn’t be a surgical mask, and that passengers can make their own or wear something suitable, such as a scarf or bandana.
“While there is a small degree of interpretation that can be applied to this, we do not believe it extends to the use of snakeskin – especially when still attached to the snake.”
