A 2ft-long snake is found in cutlery drawer in Leith
A woman with a fear of snakes discovered a 2ft-long kingsnake curled up in her kitchen drawer.
She was making dinner in her flat in the Leith area of Edinburgh when she made the discovery.
The woman called for a friend to help contain the animal, only to find it had disappeared.
It was later found in a cupboard and is now being cared for by the Scottish SPCA, which has named him Zak while it tries to trace his owner.
The California Kingsnake is non-venomous but can bite and rattle its tail.
It is thought he may have squeezed through the pipework in the block of flats.
Fiona Thorburn, of the Scottish SPCA, 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."