Escaped Essex serpent gives woman shock in bedroom

The snake was trying to get in through the bedroom window

A woman was shocked to wake up from a nap and see a snake trying to slither into her room through an open window.

She took a photo of it, then ran out of her bedroom in Basildon, Essex, and called the RSPCA.

Animal rescue officer Enola Evans searched the bedroom before finding the three-foot long reptile in the window frame, and identifying it as a harmless corn snake.

The charity said it would be rehomed if its owner did not come forward.

"It's not every day you get woken up by a snake trying to get into your bedroom through a window - the woman was terribly shocked," said Ms Evans.

However, when she arrived at the house on Hereford Walk, the snake was initially nowhere to be seen, despite a thorough search of the room.

Corn snakes are non-venomous and often kept as pets

"As the window had been open for so long, it was getting quite chilly in there, so I decided to shut it," Ms Evans said.

"That's when I spotted something moving. It was the snake, coiled around the window's rim - he had been very well-hidden, so I was really pleased to find him."

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The frightened woman was also relieved.

"I gently transferred the snake into a carrier before taking him to be cared for at an expert boarding facility," Ms Evans added.

The snake was found earlier this month and the charity was still hoping to reunite him with his owners if he was an escaped pet, otherwise he would be put up for adoption.