When Lisa Thatcher's washing machine packed up, the last thing she was expecting to find blocking the pipe was a venomous snake.

Yet that's exactly what brave plumber Roy Wiley discovered on his third call out to fix the machine at Lisa's home in Dover, where he came face to face with a five-foot adder.

His solution? Suck it out with Henry Hoover.

Watch: Roy removes the snake from his vacuum

But then Roy faced the unenviable task of extracting the angry reptile from the bag.

Despite being seemingly unharmed by its time in the washing machine, the snake's ordeal had not improved its mood.

He made sure to video the bizarre scene as he carefully ripped the bag open and gingerly tipped the thrashing snake into a plastic box.

Lisa has since handed the adder to an animal charity.

Adders are Britain's only venomous snake and, although they are not deadly, their bites are extremely painful.