An Australian woman discovered a gigantic 2ft earthworm after it was driven above ground by torrential rains.

Kelli Mace posted a photo on Facebook of her holding the huge creature with two sticks after it emerged from the earth around Tamborine Mountain, Queensland, and it was soon picked up by Australian news outlets.

The area, which is covered in rain forest, is known for the massive species of worm, known as Digaster longmani, and which can grow up to 3ft long.

Usually they remain deep underground, but heavy rain across the Gold Coast area last week has driven the creatures from their borrows.

The region on the east coast of Australia saw particularly heavy rainfall on Friday when over an inch fell in 36 hours.