A terrified woman called the Scottish SPCA after finding a stray snake, only to discover it was made of rubber.

Scotland's animal welfare charity was alerted on October 10 after a member of the public spotted the two and a half foot long creature on Glasgow's Claremont Street.

When Senior Inspector Billy Linton arrived he was amused to find a toy snake.

Billy said, "The woman had put a cardboard box over the 'snake' to contain it and I lifted it with caution as I expected the snake to be moving. However, I soon realised it was made of rubber.

"The toy is quite lifelike so I can understand why the woman was fooled.

She genuinely thought it was real and was very frightened.

"Many of the incidents I attend involve injured and neglected animals, so this was a bit of light hearted relief and it certainly put a smile on my face.

"While this particular rescue turned out to be a false alarm, we'd still always encourage anyone with concerns for an animal to contact us."

Anyone who discovers an injured or distressed animal should call the charity's animal helpline on 03000 999 999.