Pinetown resident Jackie Tindale was woken up by a rather startling guest in her bed - a 1.2 metre long snake according to a report.
“I realised there was something not right in my bed. I put my hand over my shoulder and felt something really cold lying next to me,” Tindale, 60, told IOL.
“Its head was on my shoulder. I didn’t realise what it was until I turned the light on.”
When the 60-year-old told her daughter about the intruder, she asked, “What do you want me to do?”
Her two dogs meanwhile remained oblivious.
The family contacted the neighbourhood watch for help, who in turn contacted local community network SA CAN.
According to the report local snake enthusiast John Aberdeen identified it as a harmless brown house snake.
“It had gone under the bed and under the dressing table. I managed to pull it out with a stick and catch it. Unfortunately, nowadays you don’t see them as big as this because people kill them,” he told IOL.
While the brown house snake is not a listed species, it is protected under the Western Cape Nature Conservation Act.