A woman who bought her huge pet snake into a local newsagent had to wrestle her reptile back over the counter after losing all control during their bizarre trip out.
The shopkeeper can be heard screaming in terror as the creature - thought to be a boa constrictor or python - suddenly slithered away from its struggling owner.
A shopper said "all hell broke loose" when the distracted woman brought her six-foot-long snake with her as she grabbed some essentials.
The Liverpool Echo reports that Alwyn Maynard, 52, had only visited the corner shop in the Tuebrook neighbourhood for a bottle of water.
He walked in and notice a lady with a large snake wrapped around her neck but the drama didn't stop there.
Baffling footage, shot in the city last Tuesday, shows the assistant screaming inconsolably as she flees to the end of the shop while the snake wraps itself between boxes of mints.
It then climbs onto the till as the women rambles into the camera.
Mr Maynard continued to watch on as the terrified shop assistant repeatedly orders her to "go now" despite the snake battling to escape its owner and wreak havoc.
The railway station worker joked he didn't get involved because he "didn't want to be strangled by it" and insists he didn't have any sympathy for its owner.
He said: "She just didn't seem to know what the snake was doing behind her. It must have had a sweet tooth. I just felt so sorry for the shopkeeper. She must have had a bad experience with a snake as a young child because she was absolutely terrified. All hell broke loose.
"I don't think I've ever heard screams like that. Every time she screamed it was an octave higher. She must have felt trapped. They probably dealt with people trying to rob them, but all that pales into insignificance with this. It is a bit different from a snake trying to steal from your shop.
"Why would you bring a six-feet snake to the local shop? You'd just leave it at home. I don't think she will bring it to a shop again. I wasn't very sympathetic.
"She was apologising for knocking the mints on the floor, but not the snake. She just lost control of it. It had a mind of its own.
"I didn't want to get strangled by a snake so I didn't get involved. That's how they kill their prey and I didn't want to be its next victim. I left without the water in the end."
Alwyn, who admits it was a "really nice-looking creature", says the woman managed to drag the snake back over the counter after around three minutes.
The 51-year-old joked the shop is now likely to have a "no pets allowed" sign in the window after the mid-afternoon traumatic experience.
