25-05-2025
Snake-like reptile spotted slithering through garden in Worcester
AN EAGLE-eyed photographer spotted a snake-like reptile as it slithered through his garden.
Worcester News Camera Club member Brian Smith snapped what he described as "quite a large" slow worm in his garden in Worcester.
Despite its remarkable similarity to a snake, the creature is known as a legless lizard.
Snakes and legless lizards have several key differences including legless lizards possessing ears and eyelids, and being much smaller than snakes.
Slow worms typically grow no bigger than 50cm, while Britain's largest snake, the grass snake can be as long as 150cm.
The lizard favours humid conditions and shaded areas such as grassland, heathland and the edges of woodlands.
Slow worms are also protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which makes it a criminal offence to injure, kill or sell one of the creatures.
