Caught red-handed - this grass snake has been snapped stealing and eating a fish from a pond.

When goldfish started to go missing in Paul Cackett’s pond, he blamed a visiting heron.

But then he stumbled upon the truth - a wild snake with its jaws still locked around its prey.

The snake had managed to drag a Shubunkin goldfish, around five times the size of the snake, out of the water and onto the patio,

He then began to tuck into it, in front of a shocked Mr Cackett, of Greatstone.

In the end the snake lost his appetite, spitting out his prey and diving back into the pond, where he now remains.

Mr Cackett, of Coast Drive, Greatstone, said: “My wife was jumping up and down as you can appreciate, with a great big snake in the garden.

“I am just still amazed how the thing could actually get it out of the pond, bring it onto the patio and then start devouring it.”

The pond used to hold about 17 fish but Mr Cackett has now lost three and is unsure how many of the thousand newborns he bred this year have survived.

The RSPCA have identified the snake as a grass snake and said it is common behaviour for it to eat fish and amphibians from garden ponds.