Corn snake found in cellar of Montague Bar in Edinburgh

Monty was 'extremely cold and is thin' when he was found

A landlord has rescued a live snake from the cellar of his Edinburgh pub after first thinking it was a rubber toy.

Montague Bar manager Jean Yves van de Kieft, 44, ran back up stairs to ask if his barman was playing a joke on him after spotting the reptile.

But when they went back down into the cellar they jumped with fright as the snake began to move.

Mr van de Kieft captured the corn snake in a box and called the Scottish SPCA.

The animal welfare charity believes the snake, which has now been named Monty, either escaped or was abandoned.

Mr van de Kieft told the BBC Scotland news website: "It is just not what you expect to see when you go down into your beer cellar, so that's why I thought it was a joke at first.

"When I went back down with Charlie, one of the barmen, he thought I was playing a joke on him.

"So we were both standing there wondering who would have done that when it moved which gave us a real fright.

"In a beer cellar you have a drain so it must have crawled up from there. It was half sedated because it was so cold but I didn't know this at the time so I reluctantly scooped it up with a spade and put it in a box."

'Popular pets'

Monty is being cared for at the Scottish SPCA's Edinburgh and Lothians animal rescue and rehoming centre at Balerno.

Animal rescue officer Steph Grant said: "Monty was extremely cold and is thin, so could have been straying for a while.

"Snakes need heat and can't survive for long in the cold, and it's very lucky Monty was contained by the quick-thinking landlord so we could help.

"Corn snakes are popular pets so it's likely someone is missing Monty, although we can't rule out the possibility of abandonment."

Mr Grant said that he spoke to people in flats above the pub who did not recognise Monty, although they said someone had recently moved.

The charity is keen to hear from the person who moved from the building, in St Leonard's Street.