A pet snake that escaped from its enclosure 15 months ago has been reunited with its owner.
The milk snake was found under a compost heap at a garden in Donington, Lincolnshire, on Sunday, a field away from its former home.
Mark Gordon-Hill, the snake’s owner, said he saw it had been discovered through a social media post on a local community group.
He added: “It was heartwarming. There’s hope out there for if anyone does lose any animal, any reptile, it’s nice that it has survived and has come back to its proper home!”
Emma Dormer, from Donington, said her husband found the snake while he was gardening.
She said: “I was terrified. I reached out to our local Donington Facebook page and within minutes people put us in touch with Mark, the owner.
“Hopefully [it will be] the last we will see of that!”, she added.
Gordon-Hill said he recognised the reptile from the photo – but couldn’t be sure it belonged to him until he saw it in person.
“There was this little inkling in my head. I was like – that’s exactly the same snake that went missing a year ago, and then when I got there, I was like, yeah, that’s my snake!
“The markings, a deforming on the tail, which I knew was my snake straight away,” he said.
He added the animal was in good health and believed it must have survived on local wildlife.
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