Supermum Louise confronts snake in the grass

But the brave mum said she was unfazed by the find and was able to expertly handle it and pass it onto a rescue centre.

Louise (38) was alerted to the find by son Harvey who discovered the rat snake with his friend.

The mother said at first she had not believed what her son was telling her, but inspected the grassy area behind a block of flats on Ivanhoe Road, Thurcroft, anyway.

“I got a pole and moved some grass around - and there it was,” she said.

“It was pretty big - I used to have snakes so I knew how to handle it.

“It was shedding its skin, but I had a good idea it was either a corn snake or rat snake. 

“They are just the same as any other python, they eat small prey like mice and aren’t dangerous, but they have a nice bite on them if they feel threatened.”

Other youngsters had thrown glass at the snake and Louise said it was keen to escape from the area.

She used the pole on its body to stop it moving and held her thumb on its head to stop it from biting.

“I then took it home and put it in a pillow case and put a post on Facebook to see if anybody had lost it,” she said.

After failing to get through to the RSPCA, Louise said a rescue centre had collected the snake, which was dehydrated and pregnant.

She added: “The day before, Harvey had found a ferret in the same area which bit my ankle - but luckily that was returned to its owner.”