A FATHER got the shock of his life when he found a seven-foot (2.13-meter) boa constrictor slithering next to his toddler in his back garden.

Bruce Baker thought his family was playing a prank on him when they shouted “There’s a snake in the garden” on the evening of Easter on Sunday.

But when he went to look for himself he could not believe his eyes.

The gigantic snake had got into the garden in Innerleithen, Scotland, and was right next to his 1-year-old daughter Willow.

The father-of-four told the Daily Record, “The thing was huge, I was just standing staring at it in amazement.

“The kids were shouting there’s a snake outside the front door, I looked out and there was a very live snake. I was shocked that the kids had been playing so close to it.”

Pictures show the reptile underneath Mr. Baker’s son’s bike before he recruited his neighbor to help him put it in a box.

He rushed to put his kids inside before trying to contain the giant creature.

He added, “My neighbor helped me get it into a plastic toybox — I’m glad he was dealing with the head end!”

The pair rang the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) who arrived an hour and a half later, while they waited in awe of what had just happened.

Experts from the SPCA said they think the snake is a domestic pet that could have been missing for as long as two weeks, given its condition.

Boa constrictors are not poisonous but kill prey by wrapping themselves around their prey and constricting until they choke to death.

They took it away to their base in Edinburgh in a bid to nurse it back to health and reunite it with its owner. (SD-Agencies)