A mum was left in shock after discovering 30 snails in her kitchen when her son decided to 'save them in from the rain'.
Toni-Anne Lacey, 26, from Great Yarmouth, and her five-year-old son Rye Bowles noticed the snails shortly before it began to rain, prompting him to ask to 'save them from the water'.
She proceeded to give him a tub to collect the garden snails, which she sealed when he asked if they could sleep inside too.
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However, things took a turn for the worst after Rye went to bed and Toni-Anne visited her kitchen for a late-night drink, only to discover it was covered in snails.
She quickly realised that her son hadn't sealed the tub properly, resulting in an hour's worth of cleaning after she saw the snails on the likes of her fridge, kettle and on a jar of coffee.
Toni-Anne said: "They were all over the kitchen. It was quite a shock. Rye loves the outdoors and nature. He loves animals and bugs and just likes collecting them from the garden.
"He asked if they could sleep inside. He has a little tub that he likes to keep them in.
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"Even though snails love the rain he thought they were trying to escape the water. He put them all in the tub, brought them inside and went to bed.
"I got up to make a drink a few hours later and realised he hadn't put the lid on properly."
Toni-Anne said that she'd no idea anything was wrong until she turned the kitchen light on for a drink and spotted one of the snails on the fridge.
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She then had a look around and the full horror of the situation became apparent to the mum-of-two, with some snails even getting onto a pile of fresh washing.
Recounting the incident, she continued: "It was funny. I just turned the light on, went to the fridge to get a drink and noticed them straight away. [One] was on the side of the fridge.
"They were all over the worktop, the washing and crawling down to the floor. There was one on the kettle. Everyone found that the funniest.
"They'd trailed their way through clean washing and they were on the fridge as well.
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"You could see all their slime everywhere and it was a nightmare to clean up. It took me about an hour to clean the kitchen again.
"There were around 20 or 30 but luckily they hadn't all got out. The lid was slightly off to the side so they were escaping through the gap."
The family spent the next few days with their eyes peeled for more snails, but thankfully, Toni-Anne had managed to get rid of them all.
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She said: "We were expecting a few to pop up around the house over the next few days but I think I managed to put them all outside. I didn't come across any more.
"Everyone was saying how funny it was and say they'd burn the house down. I'm quite a relaxed parent to be honest and nothing really phases me so I just put them outside.
"This isn't going to happen again. They'll be staying outside from now on."
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Emma Guinness