A Dublin dad got the shock of his life when he discovered a huge snake roaming around his back garden.
The roving reptile, understood to be a pet python, caused Douglas Keating to "panic" when he spotted it wrapped around a barrel at his home in Dun Laoghaire.
Mystified Douglas took to Twitter to ask advice as how to safely deal with the slippery serpent.
He wrote: "Snake in my garden. Panic! What to do?"
The dad was met with a variety of responses with some suggesting dialling 0800 SAINT PATRICK while others queried if the snake was real.
An adamant Douglas replied: "Yes, it's moving!" alongside a photo which showed the snake asp-iring to make itself comfortable in its new surroundings.
Reptile and nature expert Collie Ennis was alerted to the situation and he revealed that the snake was a "completely harmless" pet ball python but warned it could die if it wasn't returned home.
The terrifying tale turned out to have a happy ending as the snake turned out to be a neighbour's pet - and it had been missing for a month.
Douglas told Dublin Live: " (I) got a bit of a shock when I saw it but glad we found the owner."
The Great Es-nake came to an end after Douglas' next door neighbour came to collect his errant pet.
He revealed: "Owner has been found. Next door neighbour! Apparently she’s harmless and has been missing for a month. Eats mice!
