Man wakes up to screams after flatmate 'handcuffed' by pet snake

A man had to call a snake handler after he awoke to screams of his flatmate who had been "handcuffed" by her pet python.

Snake catcher Stuart McKenzie was called in the early hours of Thursday morning and talked the man through how to uncoil the Black Headed Python that had constricted its owner's hands together.

Mr McKenzie, who runs a snake-catching business on Australia's Sunshine Coast, wrote on Facebook:

It took about 30 minutes to untangle human from snake, and McKenzie said that it was a first in his two-and-a-half year career.

"This is the first time someone has gotten into strife with the snake," he said.

He told the Brisbane Times that there were a number of reasons why the Black Headed Python, which is not common on the Sunshine Coast, would bite and constrict the woman, but that it was usually a sign of aggression.