Snake on a plane - Scottish grandmother shocked to find hitchhiker in her luggage on trip home from Queensland

A woman returning home to Scotland from an Australian holiday received a fright when she discovered a python had hitched a ride in her luggage.

Scottish grandmother Maria Boxall travelled home on a flight from Queensland to Glasgow, which was uneventful until she began to unpack her luggage at home in Stirlingshire.

It was there that Ms Boxall discovered a live python in one of her slip-on shoes that had made itself so comfortable it had even shed its skin on the long journey.

SPCA staff were called and removed the snake from her home, the BBC reports.

"When I arrived, the snake had been contained by the caller, so I safely removed the snake from the property. Upon examination, the snake was found to be a spotted python which is not venomous," Scottish SPCA animal rescue officer Taylor Johnstone said.

"The snake is in quarantine at our animal rescue and rehoming centre in Edinburgh."

Ms Boxall says she originally thought the snake was a practical joke placed by her family, until it began to move.