Snake, rattle and roll

Or ‘slither’, to be more accurate, as this Radio-Controlled Rattlesnake from Wow! Stuff travels across the ground with realistic serpentine movements.

The battery-powered snake, created in conjunction with the Natural History Museum, makes a convincing rattling noise and can be charged directly from the handset, which takes one nine-volt battery. An instruction manual is included to help you operate your snake. This toy is suitable for children from the age of three upwards.

At 29 inches long, with lifelike skin patterns and a tongue that flickers menacingly as it moves, this could be mistaken for the largest and most dangerous rattlesnake in the USA, the Eastern Diamondback – so perhaps don’t play with it round at Grandma’s, unless you want around £29.99 worth of toy bashed with a broom.