Snake in a drain! Halloween fright for teacher as slippery friend joins him in shower

Gary Morrissey, 34, was stunned when a snake slithered out of the overflow plug of his bath while he took a shower.

The computer science teacher, from Sulgrave, Washington, panicked as the 14-inch creature made itself at home.

Fortunately, it turned out to be a non-poisonous corn snake - not that Gary knew that at the time.

Gary, who teaches in Hartlepool, said: "I was in the shower when I saw something in the overflow of the bath.

"I didn't know what it was, but on closer inspection I saw it was a snake.

"It was an interesting moment when I realised what it was. It's certainly not something you see every day.

"I was in disbelief at first. It poked its head through one of the holes and slithered out."

Gary shared the story of his new friend with pupils at High Tunstall today, and showed the children a video of the snake escaping into the bath.

It's something he can look back on now and smile at, but at the time, it was far from a laughing matter.

Gary, who lives on his own, added: "At the time, I didn't have a clue what kind of snake it was and whether it was venomous, so it was very scary.

"I assumed it would be someone's pet and so probably harmless, but couldn't be sure.

"I put a picture of the snake on Facebook and a couple of my friends identified it as a corn snake.

"It just sat there for a little while and I managed to get it into a tub."