IT’S not until I rewatch the moments I had Silke the 6ft-long royal python around my “tiny” waist and then neck that I sincerely question how I ever faced my childhood fear of snakes - even for charity.

When my instincts told me to run as Silke was being edged towards me - I did just that.

I dodged right, made some really childlike facial expressions I never knew possible, laughed, and contorted my body in a way which resembled Elvis Presley’s iconic dance moves.

But for well over an hour prior I had Sue Coleman’s, better known as Snakey Sue, undivided attention to get me through, building up from stroking Kenyan Sand Boas George and Kenny to Silke, who alongside python Benny, she has had for more than two decades.

Gazette:

Royal python Silke hooks her tail under reporter Vicky's armpit

“Once you get used to them, they’re one of the most therapeutic creatures you could hold,” Sue told me ahead of delving into the benefits of snake therapy, something she now does from her coach house in Harwich.

“Our tenth cranial nerve called the vagus affects the heart, lungs and digestive tract.

“It’s the longest nerve in the body and having a snake massage the back of the neck helps to stimulate this nerve. Anyone can benefit if they chill out and feel the vibe.”

Sue’s almost encyclopaedic knowledge of her 30 rescued pets, from their deformities to their temperaments, made this former snake hater feel an unexpected sense of empathy and care towards them.

Carpet python Tyson had a visibly damaged tail from “probably closing the enclosure on his tail,” Sue said.

And boa constrictor Micky’s nose is still swollen from a vivarium which was too small and hot before coming to live with Sue and husband George.

Plus it’s not smart to mistreat something dangled around your neck, is it? Even if I was hoping Silke stayed as docile as she did.

Gazette:

Silke gets comfortable around our reporter's waist

She said: “The important things to know about snakes before you meet them is they can’t hear anything, they can only feel sound like a deaf person.

“Their tongue pops out all the time because their main sense is the sense of taste and we all have a different aroma.

“The other thing is they pick up energy because they’re all spine.

“Snakes have been living with the earth for longer than humans, so have a wealth of knowledge to communicate.

“They cannot speak but can communicate by telepathy, or through the connections of the energy field of their body to another.”

My ophidiophobia, the proper name for fear of snakes, stemmed from nothing in particular.

Nobody had reptiles in my family, nobody had lunged one at me, but like children in horror films, snakes became something to fear.

Gazette:

Essex University journalism student and camerawoman Ellinor Fristrom holds a Rainbow Boa

In fiction and factual media, their behaviour is depicted as evil, unpredictable and plain deadly.

Now, I know better, but it’s this perception of snakes which Sue, 70, continues to battle against.

The last time she was featured in the national press, they called her, dare I say, charming collection of snakes, “deadly” and “able to kill a human in just minutes”.

Sue had no idea this would be the angle of the story.

She said: “Fake news is annoying, especially when all the correct information was originally provided.

“We fear the unknown, so I believe education helps overcome fear.

“I’ve educated many people, including children, about snakes at thousands of events and as a speaker since 1996.

“I love my job and the more work I get, the more people will be educated enough to laugh at the fake news and overcome their fears.”

When I overcame this mammoth fear - which once upon a time paralysed me inside a narrow pet shop when my friend exclaimed “Oh, there’s a snake” but I didn’t know in which tank - there were no tears like Sue said some people experienced.

I might have looked like I was about to cry but inside, I remembered why I’d decided to face my fears this year - to raise money for SignHealth, a national deaf health charity I’m an ambassador of.

The charity gives deaf people the tools to develop their emotional wellbeing in the language they use being British Sign Language - something incredibly difficult to achieve via the NHS or even with a private therapist.

Being a hearing person, I have several ways of being coached into conquering my fears or insecurities, but the language barrier blocks many of these options for someone deaf which just isn’t fair.

Ahead of meeting with Snakey Sue, I’d raised £150 but the target is £700 so I have a long way to go.

And even longer to go before you ever see me dangling snakes from my arms or head, but I’ve not had one appear in my dreams since.

To sponsor Vicky, click here.