'Shock of my life': Python bites Austrian man during visit to toilet

An Austrian man's morning transformed into a nightmarewhen apythonslid through his drains and bit him while he was sitting on the toilet.

The stunned 65-year-old in the city of Graz turned around shortly after 6 a.m. to see a roughly five-footalbino reticulatedpythonin the bowl, police in the province of Styria said in a statement.

"Shortly after he sat on the toilet the Graz resident, by his own account, felt a 'pinch' in the area of his genitals," the police statement said.

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The snake, a constrictor native to Asia that can grow to more than 9 metres (29 feet) long, is thought to have escaped a neighbour's apartment unnoticed and slid into the toilet through the drains, though its exact route was still unclear, the police said.

A reptile expert contacted by the emergency services removed the snake from the toilet, cleaned it, and returned it to its owner. Its victim was treated in hospital for minor injuries.

The 24-year-old neighbour, who owns 11 snakes, all non-venomous constrictors, has been reported to the prosecutors' office on suspicion of negligently causing bodily harm, the police added.

Pythons are among the largest snakes in the world. They are normally not considered dangerous to humans but have enough muscle power to overcome and swallow an animal as large as a grown-up fawn or calf.

(With inputs from agencies)