EVERYTHING in the garden was certainly not lovely for Julie and Patrick Pennington-Ridge when they found a three-foot snake tangled up in raspberry-bed netting at their West Quantoxhead home on Monday.

Fearing it was an adder, they called on nature-loving photographer George Ody, a neighbour, for help.

He quickly identified the trapped reptile as a grass snake and set to work with scissors to free it.

“It must have been trapped for some time because the netting was tightly wrapped round its body,” George said.

“I carefully snipped away at the material trying not to hurt the snake, which was obviously in distress.

“After about ten minutes, I managed to cut away the last of the netting and it slithered away, apparently uninjured.

“I’ve rescued lots of birds and small animals over the years, but a snake was a first.”