Officers are used to dealing with some slippery characters, but they were left flabbergasted when they were called to a flat on the Wirral to reports of a snake in the bathroom.

The woman occupant of the first floor flat in Brunswick Mews, Birkenhead, called police just after 1am on December 30 and when they arrived they found themselves confronted by a 6ft-8ft Boa Constrictor.

Neither the woman occupant of the flat, or her neighbour knew where the snake had come from.

Chester and District Standard:

The Boa Constrictor found in a flat in Wirral

After doing some online research the officers were fairly confident that the snake was a Boa Constrictor and wasn't poisonous.

They called a number of organisations to help them recover the reptile safely, but unfortunately they were unable to attend, so they called on fellow officer Constable Chris Eastwood, from the Matrix team.

Constable Eastwood has knowledge of snakes and handling them and when he arrived confirmed it was a Boa Constrictor.

Chester and District Standard:

He was able to calmly approach the reptile, which had wrapped itself around the bathroom sinks and taps, and after giving it a drink of water was able to coax it to unravel itself so that he could put it into a large, safe container.

Constable Eastwood then made arrangements to have the snake temporarily housed at a local pet rescue facility.

The snake has been temporarily rehomed and is doing well. The rest is hiss-tory...