A family who woke to find shed snake skin in their two-year-old son's bed, and a dead mouse by the stairs, are desperately hoping to find the reptile which is on the loose in their home.

Bethan, 25, and Kayleigh Baldwin-Pierce, 23, from Auden Road in Larkfield, who both have phobias of snakes, have been searching for the creature since 9am this morning when Kayleigh first made the discovery.

Bethan said: "When my wife said 'there's snake skin on the landing' I didn't believe her.

"I got up to have a look and I also saw a dead, half eaten, mouse at the bottom of the stairs.

"My son has a divan bed and we even found skin in the base where the drawers are supposed to be.

"We've got a snake specialist coming over this evening so hopefully they will find it. Otherwise I won't sleep tonight."

This afternoon the couple found more skin in two-year-old Harvey's bedroom adding: "It's safe to say he won't be sleeping in there tonight."

Chris Cini, a snake enthusiast, also from Larkfield, who owns a 12ft python named Zombie, says the skin has come from a corn snake, likely to be a missing pet as they are not native to the UK.

He said corn snakes are completely harmless and can grow up to one metre long.

He added: "They hide in last places you would expect.

"My python was gone for 101 days and not a soul saw her so for a smaller one it could be anywhere. It's likely to be very cold and scared.

"Snakes like to be left alone and some owners may only check on them once or twice a week and they probably haven't even noticed it has gone."

Zombie went missing in 2015 and was later spotted near a supermarket car park.

To speed up the process of finding the snake, Mr Cini added: "Put flour on the floor, especially around the edges of the room as they like to stay close to the skirting boards.

"If the snake goes out it will drag flour with its belly and leave a trail."

Bathan and Kayleigh, who have been married for two years, live in the property with their two children Harvey, two, and Logan, nine months.

They are now urging snake owners nearby to check on their pets and get in touch if they find one is missing.

Escaped animals, unusual finds and news from the RSPCA can all be found here.

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