This is the heart-stopping moment beachgoers leaped up in terror when a huge snake gatecrashed their picnic.

Arah Palmara and her friends Rose Ann and Janice visited Halabang Baybay beach in Sorsogon province, the Philippines to tuck into food and snacks on July 1.

The young women were enjoying the cool seaside breeze and recording a vlog when a bright green serpent slithered over and interrupted them.

Footage shows how the ferocious snake emerged from a row of plants behind the girls, darting right under their legs before slithering away across the sand.

The locals screamed upon seeing the snake so close and fled from their picnic while one of the group was left seated from shock.

None of them were bitten by the snake.

A frightened Arah said: 'There was a blackout at the time, so we decided to hang out at the beach waiting for the power to return. We were just chatting while recording ourselves. I didn't expect that a snake would pass by.

'I thought it was a weird long leaf at first. I was about to pick it up, but I wondered why it was moving so much. It turned out to be a snake.

'We all stood up in fright when we saw it. We were lucky it wasn't aggressive.'