Kingsnake Zak found curled up in cutlery drawer in Edinburgh

A woman with a phobia of snakes was terrified after discovering a two-foot long kingsnake in her kitchen cutlery drawer.

The Scottish SPCA were called after the creature was found in a flat in Lindsay Road in the Leith area of Edinburgh.

The California kingsnake is being cared for at the charity’s Balerno centre where staff have named him Zak.

Animal rescue officer Fiona Thorburn said: “The lady was just about to have her dinner and got a real fright when she reached into the drawer to grab cutlery and found Zak curled up on the knives and forks.

“As she has a phobia of snakes, she called her friend for help to contain him only to discover that he had disappeared from the drawer.

“Thankfully they managed to locate him in a cupboard elsewhere in the kitchen before he sneaked away.

“Zak is quite large for an escapee and it’s usually smaller snakes that can squeeze through pipework in flats.

“However, all snakes can be really good escape artists, so there’s every chance Zak has an owner nearby who is looking for him.”