Residents in Endeavour Street had a close encounter of the scaly kind last night when a large python was spotted on the bitumen at about 7.30pm. 

Jean Thurtell snapped this shot of her husband Mike and daughter Edie checking out the big snake, which appears to be somewhere between four and five metres long. 

Far from being afraid of the reptile, the Thurtells were out on the road to make sure it wasn’t hit by passing vehicles. 

“We didn’t want anyone to run it over we stayed with it,’ Jean said. 

“There was a small crowd that ended up gathering around it.

“He was harmless, he didn’t have a go at anyone or anything.”

After about ten minutes the python slithered off into the nature strip adjoining Endeavour Street.

Jean said it was rare to see a big snake like that in the flesh, even though they left behind their surplus skins.

“We’ve seen plenty of big skins near the house, but not so much the snakes themselves,” Jean said.