Has anyone lost an eight-foot-long pet python?

Step-brothers Ross Turner, 34, and Mike Creighton, 36, stumbled over the body of this giant snake while walking along mud flats on the Isle of Sheppey on Sunday evening.

Ross, from The Avenue, Aylesford, said: “We couldn’t believe it. It was just lying on the beach with its mouth open showing its teeth. I don’t know how long it had been dead but it smelled horrible.

“Perhaps it is someone’s pet which has escaped?”

The self-employed landscaper who runs aRTy landscapes, added: “Just to see how large it was, I laid out next to it on the beach. I’m 6ft 6in and it was longer than me. It must be at least 7ft 6in or possibly 8ft. It was a monster.”

The picture was taken by Mike, a panel-beater from Cliff Gardens, Minster. The pair had been walking Mike’s dog at Elmley Nature Reserve and spotted the snake as the tide was coming in near the Kingsferry Bridge.

Ross said: “As soon as we got out of the van we saw something shimmering by the shoreline and went across to investigate. At first we thought it was sunbathing. I thought I was going for a walk not a safari. I’ve never seen a snake as big as that before, not even in a zoo!”

Do you think it’s your snake? Email timesguardian@thekmgroup.co.uk