Worried teachers had to call in an Australian pest control expert to flush out an elusive three-foot-long snake terrifying a primary school.

The slippery serpent was first spotted by frightened youngsters in the grounds of the school in Basingstoke, Hampshire.

Aussie bred pest controller Shane Jones, 50, was called in to track down the snake.

But after two visits to the school when the pupils had gone home and no sightings, the man from Down Under began to think the children had imagined seeing the snake.

However, Shane was called back to the scene last Friday (June 21) after receiving a call from the school's caretaker who said he had the snake locked in his sights.

Worried teachers had to call in an Aussie pest control expert to flush out an elusive three feet long SNAKE terrifying a primary school.

The slippery serpent was first spotted by frightened youngsters in the grounds of the school in Basingstoke, Hants.

Aussie bred pest controller Shane Jones, 50, was called in to track down the snake.

But after two visits to the school when the pupils had gone home and no sightings, the man from Down Under began to think the children had imagined seeing the snake.

However, Shane was called back to the scene last Friday after receiving a call from the school's caretaker who said he had the snake locked in his sights.