IT was a scene that could have come straight out of movie.

Southampton man Pete Lewis reached down to pluck what he thought was a loose thread from his bathroom carpet.

Instead he ended up face-to-face with a snake's flicking tongue.

The 48-year-old printer did not hang around for a closer look. He ran into the living room of his first-floor flat to call for help from his partner, Jackie Humphries, who used to keep snakes as pets.

She was able to identify it as a baby python, a species that is not venomous but can grow to a considerable length.

The couple called in the RSPCA, which collected the creature and took it to the Stubbington Ark animal shelter. It is hoped the snake will be reclaimed by its owner.

Mr Lewis told the Daily Echo: "When I went into the bathroom I noticed a bit of thread had come loose. But when I reached for it I saw it was moving.

"Then I saw the snake's tongue and I thought to myself: Something's not quite right here!' "Who knows where it came from? Perhaps it came through the water system or from a flat upstairs."

Jackie, a 47-year-old accountant, added: "I knew what it was straight away from the markings.

"It was only a baby - probably between one and three months old and only about a foot in length.

"It had completely blended in with the carpet in our bathroom."

Inspector Mike Garrity said: "Snakes appearing in people's homes are actually quite common.

"People keep them as pets and they escape through floorboards where they can survive for a very long time."

Even though the snake turned out to be an infant, Pete said he was still a little shaken by the surprise visitor to their home in Green Lane, Maybush.

"I'm just glad it wasn't anything bigger," he added.