Horrifying pictures show the moment a huge 18ft-long snake slithers its way into the bedroom of a home through an open window.
The albino Burmese python made its way along the roof and into a property in Chandler’s Ford, Hampshire on Tuesday morning.
Neighbour Jenny Warrick, 62, said she first spotted the snake - native to Southeast Asia - at around 5.30 as she and her husband got up.
“I saw something on the roof and thought it must be a plastic tube, but then its head started moving,” she said.
She said she told her husband, who replied: "Don't be silly".
But then “we realised that it was definitely a snake and it was moving all over the roof, trying to find a way to get down,” Ms Warrick added.
“It’s not what you want to see first thing in the morning...my husband hates snakes, and he couldn’t get to work fast enough.”
The occupants of the house used a broom to scare the reptile back out of the window, causing it to fall onto a car bonnet below as stunned neighbours watched on.
At that point, passersby knocked on the door of a neighbour they knew had kept snakes in the past, thinking she might have owned it.
But the woman, who wanted to remain anonymous, said it wasn't hers, although she kept it in the conservatory to be collected by its owner, who lived a short distance away.
“I used to keep snakes and I know that when they’re hungry they can turn nasty. I was bitten by my python a number of times," she said.
"It was a big 18ft snake and it must have been six stone at least.”
The RSPCA’s Evie Button said: “Snakes are excellent escape artists and will take the opportunity of a gap in an enclosure door, or a loose-fitting lid to make a break for it.
“Snakes become more active during hot weather.
“So we would urge all pet snake owners to be extra vigilant at this time of year, invest in an enclosure suitable for the particular species and make sure that enclosure is kept secure – and locked if necessary – when unattended.
She added: “People should only consider keeping a snake if they can ensure they are fully able to provide for these needs."
