Snake in car scare for mechanic

The snake was captured after slithering behind interior panels in the car

A snake had to be removed from a car after a mechanic discovered the reptile while clearing an impounded vehicle.

Lothian and Borders Police said the worker at West Bank Road Garage, Macmerry, East Lothian, came across the orange snake last week.

A spokesman said the man thought it was a toy, tried to remove it, but it slithered away behind a panel.

It was captured by the Scottish SPCA and is thought to have been a rat snake - which are not poisonous.

A section of interior panel had been cut away to get to the snake.

David Legge, the force liaison officer for the Vehicle Recovery Scheme, said: "Our contractors often contact me for advice on valuable or unusual property found in uplifted vehicles, but this takes the biscuit.

"Sometimes we can find knives or baseball bats hidden in vehicles, but the snake is something no-one would want to find, let alone handle."