There’s a snake in our back garden

The Mexican King snake peeking its head from the drain. Picture: Ross Parry Agency

Petrified Linda and Geoff Peck spotted the large Mexican black kingsnake as it peered out from the grate.

The couple first thought it was “a black slug” but then the snake - normally found in the Mexican desert - emerged, its tongue flickering.

It slithered around the couple’s back yard in Cleethorpes - forcing Linda, 56, to flee inside and Geoff, 59, to grab his video camera.

The couple’s firefighter son Simon, 37, eventually saved the day after rushing to his parent’s house and guiding the snake into a recycling box.

He then called a nearby reptile store and the owner came around to relieve the Peck family of the intruder.

Experts say the snake may have hatched from a nest of eggs which could have been laid in the sewers of Grimsby and Cleethorpes.

Linda, a supermarket worker, said: “I just stood there looking at it, and as soon as its tongue came out, I knew it was a snake.

“I’m absolutely petrified of snakes and worms and anything creepy crawly, I was in pieces and didn’t know what to do.

“Geoff rang Simon, who said he would be ten minutes leaving work and told us to keep an eye on it. We did from inside, behind the door.

“We couldn’t get through to the RSPCA, so tried the police, who put us in touch with a local animal shelter. By that time, Simon had arrived to save the day.

“Geoff stood behind the door as Simon went outside. He loves his wildlife programmes and must have got some tips from them as he was great handling the snake.

“When Simon went to touch the snake’s tail, it arched around to try and bite him, but Simon managed to get the snake into a recycling box by putting a shovel on top of its head to control it.”

The snakes can grow up to 4ft in length, with the average around 2.5ft, and can live to 15 years-old.

Linda added: “It’s something I can look back on and laugh at now, but it’s an experience I never want to live again. I can’t bear to even watch them on TV, they’re not my thing at all. I’m just grateful I wasn’t on my own, as I’d have probably passed out on the floor.”