A Fife mother has described her terror after she was bitten on the chest by a snake which had snuggled under her duvet.
Caroline Griffin, 49, of Guardbridge, woke to find the 4ft long long reptile making an unwelcome bedfellow.
When she screamed, the brown and cream creature sank its fangs into her breast leaving bruising and angry puncture marks.
Caroline feared she might be seriously injured or even that she might die because she didn’t know if the snake was poisonous.
But she was put at ease when a neighbour from five doors away arrived to claim the reptile which had escaped six months earlier.
The non-poisonous Brown Belly California kingsnake called Hiss belongs to Gareth Niven, 21, who lives on Caroline’s street in Guardbridge.
He had not seen his pet reptile since it pushed its way out of its tank six months previously.
Gareth said Hiss had escaped once before and it was two years until he was caught.
All kingsnakes are nonvenomous. But they are powerful constrictors and generally kill their prey by squeezing the life out of them.
They are considered harmless to humans but have been known to bite if handled too much.
Single parent Caroline’s kids took photographs of the snake on their mobile phones while she called the Scottish SPCA for help.
But the animal welfare charity’s inspector turned back after Gareth arrived to claim Hiss.
He scooped the snake up in a pillow case and took him home.
Caroline, who is mum to Laura, 24, Michael, 21, Emily, 16 and 13-year-old DJ, Caroline is still getting over the shock of finding Hiss on her chest.
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Photo courtesy of Flickr user M Dolly.