1:23pm UK, Friday November 04, 2005

Keith the boa constrictor has been driving residents round the bend by swimming up out of their toilets.

But after three months of freedom, the 10ft snake has been caught.

180 snake keith found in toilet boa

Trapped at last

Terrified homeowners were forced to put bricks on toilet seats to keep the beast from popping out of the pan.

Keith - actually a female snake - is thought to have been abandoned whena resident was evicted for owing £5,500 in rent.

Despite using high-tech fibre optic equipment to check sewage pipes, no trace could be found.

But a plucky resident who came face-to-face with the snake on his bathroom floor managed to trap it after coaxing it into a bucket.

A spokesman for the RSPCA said it was not uncommon for snakes to be found in household sewage pipes.

RSPCA Regional Exotic Animals co-ordinator Jimmy Ratcliff said: "The snake appears to have been living quite happily in the sewage system of the flats.

"They can swim very well and can hold their breath for more than 20 minutes.

"It would have no problem travelling up and down the waste pipe and has probably been eating rats from the sewer."

Landlord David Fitzgerald, who owns the block of flats, said a former resident had owned a 12-year-old snake and been forced out of the property in August.

Boa constrictors naturally originate from South or Central America and can grow to more than 15ft in length.