England’s base in Rustenburg is surrounded by snakes

LONDON - The England team will have to negotiate some deadly serpents at their World Cup base, Rustenburg, in South Africa.

Killer pythons, spitting cobras, puff adders and black mambas are in abundance around the Bafokeng Sports Campus in Rustenburg. The Royal Bafokeng Sports Hotel and Complex will be England’s World Cup base.

The Daily Mail reported that the medical unit has been stocked with anti-venom if any of England’s stars are unlucky enough. The players have also been asked not to venture out after dark.

“We have prepared for emergencies. Anti-venoms are among the medicines stocked. We will sit with the team and tell them they may encounter snakes,” local health chief Keba Mokgethi was quoted as saying by the daily.

The electric fence around the base can stop pythons, but not smaller poisonous species. The black mamba is a particularly deadly snake, with enough venom in a bite to kill several people.

The England squad arrive in Rustenburg June 3, ahead of their first World Cup match against the United States June 12.