Terrified patients found a snake slithering through the corridor of an NHS hospital.
The two-foot long serpent was seen twisting and turning towards busy wards before it was caught.
Hospital visitor Dean Rendell, 35, raised the alarm after coming across the snake winding its way along the floor.
The snake was later removed by a hospital porter - who returned it to a riverbank near the hospital.
Dean said he was visiting his grandmother at the Ysbyty Cwm Cynon hopsital in Mountain Ash, South Wales when he found the snake.
He said: "Me and my mother were visiting my nan when we were approached by an older man who asked if we knew if there was anyone in charge nearby.
"After asking why, he explained he couldn't get out of the hospital because there was a snake in the corridor.
"I went to investigate and that’s when I saw the snake moving up the side of the corridor.
"I had my nephew with me who was six years old so I didn’t want to get to close in case it was dangerous.
"I buzzed the ward and a nurse came and rang maintenance to tell them about the snake.
"It kept moving up the corridor trying to get under doors into the wards."
A spokesman for the health board said the snake was safely removed and returned to nearby countryside by a porter.
He said: "Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board can confirm that a snake was found in a corridor at Ysbyty Cwm Cynon by a member of staff.
"We suspect that the snake came up from the river which runs alongside the hospital.
"A member of our portering staff safely returned the snake to the river bank."
