Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe Sept. 17 (UPI) -- Transportation officials in a British city responded to viral photos from a municipal bus by reminding residents that snakeskin is not an acceptable material for face masks -- especially when it's still attached to a snake. The photos, snapped aboard a Manchester bus, show a man sitting aboard the vehicle with a live snake wrapped around his neck and mouth. Advertisement A witness told the Manchester Evening News the man initially appeared to be wearing "a really funky mask" until the snake started to move around. "It was definitely entertaining," she said. The photos show the man was not wearing a face mask underneath the snake. A Transport for Greater Manchester representative said passengers are required to wear face masks on city buses to protect from the COVID-19 pandemic. "This needn't be a surgical mask ... passengers can make their own or wear something suitable, such as a scarf or bandanna," the representative told CNN. "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." Advertisement Read More Woman stranded with flat tire discovers she won $100,000 Wildlife officials: Tennessee 'tiger' likely a native bobcat Reported stranded dolphin in Britain was a big tuna