Second-hand cars are known for sometimes throwing up the odd nasty surprise. But it's not gremlins under the bonnet causing owner Smiler Wilson bother, but a three-foot snake found lurking - dead - in the foot well.

Mr Wilson, from Heacham near Hunstanton, was washing the Vauxhall Zafira on Sunday when his youngest daughter Leanne, 12, spotted something in the bodywork and screamed.

'She was vacuuming in the passenger side and saw the snake's head poking out,' Mr Wilson said. 'I pulled it out and it just kept coming. The neighbours came out and thought she had just seen a spider.

'I have no idea how long it's been in there or where it came from. We don't really know what to do with it - it's a bit late for the vet!'

His wife, Glenda, used to keep snakes herself but is so far unsure what variety the snake is.

'We may never know where it came from, but it would be really nice to find out exactly what it is,' she said. 'I love snakes, I think it's pretty.'

The rest of the family is less keen, however, and the couple's daughters Daniella, 15, Nicole, 13 and Leanne, all students at Smithdown High School in Hunstanton, now refuse to travel in the front.

'We bought the car in October and have had problems with it,' Mr Wilson added. 'There was sometimes a noise on that side. Imagine if it's head had popped out while you were driving.

'I think I'll have the car valeted next time.'

The visitor is thought to be a grass snake and could have got inside the car when it was parked at a car boot.