A woman was making breakfast when she found an unwelcome visitor behind her toaster - a venomous snake.
The red-bellied black snake is believed to have slithered into her home in Mount Nebo near Brisbane, Australia, when she accidentally left a door open while going for run.
The serpent poked its head out from behind the toaster just centimetres from the runner who had her hand on the kitchen counter.
The terrifying find was made public by Brisbane North Snake Catchers and Relocation service which posted images of the serpent on Facebook.
The snakecatching service warned: "The snakes are capable of a fatal bite if handled, or harassed."
Steven Brown, who owns the service, said while the Red-bellied black was quite small, they can still be dangerous.
He told the Courier Mail: "It was only about 80cm long but they can definitely be a problem even as newborns.
"They aren't as good at climbing as tree snakes but there was a shelf it must have used to climb up onto the benchtop."
He added that the warmer weather means there have been more regular sightings of snakes due to an increase in food sources.
He said: "The rain earlier on seems to have encouraged green frogs, one of their favourite foods, but they eat pretty much anything and I wouldn't say there are more around than usual at this time of year."
Last week a red-bellied black snake was found slithering through toys in a child's room in Cabbage Tree Point on the Gold Coast.
Experts were called out to the family home to catch the snake last Sunday.
Red-bellied black snakes are one of the most frequently encountered snakes on the east coast of Australia.
To date there have been no known deaths linked to bites from the red-bellied black snake.
But if provoked they will attack with their bites causing pain and can result in blood clotting, swelling and localised necrosis - or cell death of the bite area.
