An exotic five-foot snake gave a student a nasty fright as he was mowing the lawn.

Hassan Haque was almost finished cutting the grass in his garden in Hoe Lane, Enfield, when he saw the yellow and orange snake slithering along.

The 23-year-old told the Enfield Independent: “I was shocked and scared – you don’t expect to find a snake loose in Enfield.

“It was right in my path so I quickly ran inside and called for my dad to come and take a look.”

Using a long bamboo stick Hassan’s father Mohammed Haque attempted to pick the snake up and place it in a bucket but it kept wriggling free.

Eventually Mr Haque picked it up by its tail and placed it safely in the large bucket.

Hassan, who studies aviation management at London Metropolitan University, said: “I was in shock and I didn’t know what to do next so I called the police.

“The only time I’ve ever seen a snake was in Bangladesh and that was in a zoo.”

Hassan was told to contact the RSCPA which sent a responder who believes it is a corn snake that has escaped from a neighbouring house.