North Carolina couple find snake cooking with their pizza

Jan. 2 (UPI) -- A North Carolina family said they lost their appetite for pizza when they discovered a snake had slithered into their oven and been cooked with the intended entree.

Amber and Robert Helm of Wake Forest said their kitchen filled with smoke while they were baking a pizza this week and they looked into the oven to discover a snake had found its way into the bottom of the oven.

"The oven started smoking and I told my boys 'back up' so I can make sure a fire or anything didn't happen," Amber Helm told WRAL-TV. "I looked closely and was like 'Oh my God! That's a friggin' snake.'"

She said the family lost interest in the pizza.

"We went out to eat," Helm said. "We did not eat the pizza. I hear a lot of people asking the question. 'Did we eat the pizza?' No."

The couple said they plan to have their home inspected by pest experts to figure out where the snake came from and make sure there aren't anymore slithering surprises in the house. They said the oven will need some thorough cleaning before they will be ready to use it again.

"It's in double-, triple-cleaning mode. I cleaned it through a cycle last night. It's soaking now. The grill grates have been pulled," Robert Helm said.