A SNAKE has made its way to Scotland all the way from Australia in the suitcase of a tourist.

The creature was discovered in a shoe which had been packed away by a woman from Bridge of Allan in Stirling.

She made the startling discovery after arriving home from Glasgow Airport after which she alerted the Scottish SPCA.

The woman’s son-in-law Paul Airlie told local news site ABC Radio Brisbane: “She was not at all expecting to find the snake when she was unpacking a bag when she got back to Scotland.

“She had woken up a few days before she left and thought she had seen a snake in her room and woke me up at 3:00 in the morning to check.

“Obviously she just picked the shoe up and stuck it in the bag and then it was there.

“Somehow or other it got from Mackay to Glasgow without being detected.”

Paul said the incident was reported to the Scottish SPCA.

Scottish SPCA animal rescue officer Taylor Johnstone told the Evening Times: “I can confirm we removed a snake from a property in Bridge of Allan.

“I responded to a call from a woman who had just returned from a holiday in Australia who had found a small snake inside her shoe in her suitcase.  

“When I arrived, the snake had been contained by the caller, so I safely removed the snake from the property.  

“Upon examination, the snake was found to be a spotted python which is not venomous.

“The snake is now in quarantine at our animal rescue and rehoming centre in Edinburgh.”