A snake has been spotted near a canal in Droitwich.

Eagle-eyed locals saw a grass snake in the Chawson area of the town, on the east side of the Droitwich Barge Canal.

It comes after Worcester residents were sent into panic mode last month when a fake post about a copperhead snake bite was shared hundreds of times on Facebook.

Worcestershire Wildlife Trust reassured people the species is not native to the UK.

However, the grass snake most certainly is, along with the adder and the “very rare” smooth snake.

A spokesperson for the charity said: "Grass snakes are the most common and these can sometimes be found in gardens.

"Mature females can be about one metre in length but, as with many species of wildlife, they consider us to be a bigger threat to them than we consider they are to us so they’re likely to disappear before we see them."

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Grass snakes have a distinctive yellow collar on the back of their neck with greenish to brown bodies that have black marks along the sides.

Adders are the UK’s only venomous snakes but numbers have been declining steeply for many years and they are only just clinging on in a few areas of Worcestershire.

Adders only grow to 50-60cm and can be brown or grey with a diamond pattern down the centre of their back.

The spokesperson added: "It’s important to keep dogs on leads when out in open countryside to reduce the risk both to pets and to the snakes too.

"Of course, there is always the chance that an exotic snake has escaped from someone’s private collection and so appropriate caution should always be exercised."

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Worcestershire is also home to slow worms, which whilst may look like snakes, are actually legless lizards.

Growing to 50cm in length, they’re golden-beige in colour and are usually loved by gardeners and allotment holders as they readily gobble up slugs.

Slow-worms don’t usually bask in the sunshine like snakes so can be even trickier to see.