This slippery customer made a great escape from his owner Ashley Smallwood's home - and then turned up two month's later at his nan's house.

Terrified Shirley Gardiner was so frightened she almost put a spade across the pet snake's head.

But a last minute change-of-mind save the snake's skin - and the crafty creature has now been renamed Houdini.

The episode began when Ashley's three corn snakes muscled their way out of the glass vivarium which sits on a desk in his bedroom.

Ashley, 15, of Sandgate Road, Brighton, caught two of them in the act but the third made a successful break for freedom.

He said: "She just did a runner. She legged it and although she's quite big but I couldn't find her anywhere."

The snakes are brightly coloured and although they do not bite, they are constrictors who squeeze their prey to death.

The family live in a terrace of Victorian homes and Ashley believes the female snake, who did not have a name before the breakout, climbed onto his bed and onto the floor before sneaking beneath the skirting boards.

He believes the snake slithered under the floorboards, bypassing the next-door neighbour's house, which is home to two cats, and into his nan's home.

Even their the stealthy snake was lucky to survive the journey past Labrador Hughie's nose.

When the snake escaped Ashley and his mum Lucy agreed not to tell his gran because she has a phobia and cannot bear to be near the scaly snakes.

Ashley said: "We thought it was best not to tell her because she doesn't like them and would have been scared to think there was one on the loose."

But the 4ft snake found its way into Mrs Gardiner's home and sat on her front doormat inside her home until she got up one morning and unexpectedly stumbled into it.

She said: "I went to pick the milk up off the doorstep in my bare feet and felt something rub against the bottom of the door. I though it was one of the dog's toys."

She looked down and there was her worst nightmare, a snake.

She said: "I didn't know it was one of Ashley's because he didn't tell me it had escaped. He knew if I knew it had escaped I would have worried. I can't bear them. Its the thought of all those muscles constricting around you."

She was so frightened she was going to hit it with a spade, but thought her grandson may know what to do with it so called him for his help.

The sheepish teenager then admitted it was his.

She said: "He looked a bit guilty and said it was one of his and it had been missing for about two months. I might have been living with it."

Ashley, who may now name the snake Houdini, added: "I don't know how it got into nan's house, but some scientists say they can use smell or DNA. I couldn't believe it when I saw it and it managed to get past the dog."

All three snakes are now back in their tank - with their escape route blocked.