A photo showing two 55ft-long snakes in China has become an internet hit.

The unnerving picture showed two enormous boas which were apparently found by workers clearing forest for a new road outside Guping city.

The men said they'd woken the sleeping snakes whilst bulldozing the area.

A source said: "On the third dig, the operator found there was blood amongst the soil, and with a further dig, a dying snake appeared.

"The driver was paralysed with fear, while the other workers ran for their lives."

It is also alleged that the driver was so traumatised he suffered a heart attack on his way to hospital and later died.

Local government officials say the story and photograph are almost certainly a hoax as giant boas are not native to the area.