Scottish grandmother Moira Boxall returned from a trip to Australia to discover a snake curled up inside a shoe in her suitcase.
The reptile, which had smuggled itself onto her 9,000-mile flight from Queensland to Glasgow, had begun shedding its skin during the journey. Paul Airlie, Ms Boxall’s son-in-law, told Australian broadcaster ABC News that the grandmother had initially mistaken the creature for a toy placed in her luggage as a prank.
After realising the snake was real, she covered the shoe with a box and called Airlie, who contacted the Scottish SPCA. Scottish SPCA animal rescue officer Taylor Johnstone said: “I can confirm that we removed a snake from a property in Bridge of Allan.
“I responded to a call from a woman who had just returned from a holiday in Australia who had found a small snake inside her shoe in her suitcase. When I arrived, the snake had been contained by the caller, so I safely removed the snake from the property.”