Mechanics attempting to jump-start a car were given a shock when they found a snake under the bonnet.
Garage workers in Kelty in Fife called out animal charity the Scottish SPCA after they discovered the 2ft (0.6m) corn snake in the engine of the Fiat Punto they were working on.
The reptile, which has been named Punto, is now being looked after at the Edinburgh and Lothians Animal Rescue and Rehoming Centre in Balerno.
Scottish SPCA staff were called out to North Road Garage in Kelty on Saturday after the surprise discovery.
Animal rescue officer Stacey Jamieson said, "The mechanics got a bit of a shock when they opened the bonnet and found Punto.
"He would have been attracted by the heat so it would have seemed like a good place to take a rest.
"Thankfully, he was discovered before the car was driven as this could have led to him coming to serious harm."
She added: "I'm not sure where Punto came from but there's a sewage works next to the garage so it's possible he got into a pipe somewhere and has been surviving on sewer mice since then.
"Punto is a lovey wee snake and it would be great to reunite him with his owner if he has gone missing. If no-one comes forward for Punto we'll find him a new home."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article