Snakes have replaced children at a Sydney playground as parents say they are now too scared to visit with their families.
One mother said the Warriewood Valley Rocket Park, in the northern beaches, has become a "haven" for snakes in the past two months with concerned parents posting sightings on social media.
The Northern Beaches Council told the ABC it was reviewing maintenance areas around the park, in the hope it would "discourage" snakes.
Resident Stacey Mitchell grew up in the area and said the issue was getting worse.
"I just won't go down there," she said.
"I won't go near it, and that's the feeling amongst the beaches now that so many people are now commenting saying 'I'm not going there'.
"It's really an issue here now and we're saying to the council, 'what are you going to do about it?'."
The mother-of-two blamed land clearing for the influx of snakes.
"The snakes come out of the long grass and get on the concrete and lie on the sand in the toddlers' area," she said.
A spokesperson for the Northern Beaches Council said the weather was a factor in the increased sightings.
"It is common to see increased levels of snake activity in the warmer and dry months, especially as they move in and around areas of bushland," the spokesperson said.
"Council staff have been on site at Rocket Park and are reviewing the maintenance of areas around the park to discourage any potential snake movement through the playground."
They urged residents to report snake sightings to council.
