A crowd gathered outside an Oxhey home yesterday, taking photographs of an escaped metre-long snake.

The red, black and yellow striped reptile was spotted outside a house in Grover Road.

Peter Trescak, a witness and Grover Road resident, said: "We found out that the snake is most probably a milk snake but it can also be a deadly coral snake, which resemble each other."

Police were contacted and a Rural Operational Support Team with special equipment arrived at the scene to remove the snake.

Mr Trescak added: "It was definitely a very exciting day for a normally quiet street."

Where the snake was spotted in Grover Road.

The snake’s owner has yet to be found.