People living in a small UK town have been left shocked after a large snake was spotted swimming in the canal.
The grass snake was spotted in Shropshire Union Canal, which runs through Llangollen, Denbighshire in Wales, earlier this week.
Some residents were left shocked following the sighting, with a few taking to social media, Wales Online reports.
“Bloody hell, I would have s*** myself if I saw one of those," one person said.
A second added: "I would have died!!"
Grass snakes are non-venomous and rarely reach longer than six foot in length. Snakes are regularly seen around the canal in Llangollen, with many preferring to live on riverbanks and in ponds and ditches.
Of course, being close to water allows the reptiles easy access to their favourite prey – frogs, toads and small fish.
While they are harmless, grass snakes do excrete a foul-smelling liquid from their anal glands as part of a defensive technique that can take a long time to rid of.
The Canal and River Trust has described the way these snakes are able to camouflage themselves as an "impressive performance". They said: "It can involve the snake writhing onto its back and lolling its tongue out of its mouth.
“Sadly many people who are lucky enough to glimpse a grass snake are afraid of it, perhaps confusing this harmless reptile with the venomous adder.”
This is not the first time snakes have been spotted in canals across the UK. Just last month a big grass snake was seen swimming in Bude Canal in Cornwall, although this was welcomed by locals after many were worried about drought over the summer. And six years ago, an 18ft-long python was spotted in the Grand Union Canal in Aylestone.
Of course, snakes sometimes also find themselves inside homes, and this proved to be the case in August after an escaped 18ft-long python tried to get into a house through an open bedroom window.
The "very dangerous" 38kg snake was spotted by neighbours as it slithered across a roof before forcing its way through the upstairs window. Worried residents inside managed to use a broom handle to fight off the albino Burmese Python, poking it back out before it fell 20ft onto the bonnet of a car below, landing with an "almighty thud".
