A man who is terrified of snakes came face to face with what he believes is a three-metre python that was dumped in Gżira, metres away from a playground.

He was returning to his car parked near Ġnien il-Kunsill ta’ L-Ewropa in Gżira when he spotted an old whisky keg in a skip. He jumped in the skip to retrieve it, noticing a big reinforced sack beside it.

“I opened it up and that’s when I came face to face with the python. I froze and my friend had to pull me out," he said. 

A spokesman for the Parliamentary Secretariat of Animal Rights said talks about regulating exotic pets were still ongoing and work on the proposed regulation would be finalised in the coming weeks. 

Watch video above. More in The Sunday Times of Malta.