A woman has spoken of her shock after encountering a huge snake while walking on a country lane.

Nurse Lorraine Tompkins, 33, was out walking in School Lane towards Borden, near Sittingbourne, when she spotted a snake by the side of the road.

Although her initial reaction was to run, she then took a photo and posted it to Facebook in case the snake was a missing pet.

"I thought I would be a bit healthy and get some steps in - I didn't know I would get some cardio as well," said Lorraine. "I'm not really that squeamish, until I see a snake.

"Because I don't really like them I started to run. I was on my own and I just ran over the other side of the road.

"Then I thought my partner wouldn't believe me when I said how big it was, and I thought maybe somebody owns it, so I thought I'd better take a photo.

"I posted on Facebook that I didn't know if it was dead or alive - I didn't want to go near it."

"I wasn't going to get too close. I took the photo and ran down the road"

Lorraine estimated the snake was around three feet long, and believes it has since been collected.

"Somebody said they thought it was a corn snake, and someone said they had picked it up," she added. "I wasn't going to get too close. I took the photo and ran down the road."

Corn snakes are commonly kept as pets and usually live for about 10 to 15 years. They can grow up to 150cm in length (approximately five feet).

While they do bite if they feel stressed or can smell food, their bite is not venomous.

They are native to north America and usually eat small rodents and other reptiles killing their prey by constriction.

Is this your snake or do you know the owner? Get in touch at news@thekmgroup.co.uk

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