GIANT earthworms as big as SNAKES discovered on Scotland’s Isle of Rum https://t.co/GBd02qbQXOpic.twitter.com/C6PrzKmvDN

— Daily Express (@Daily_Express) January 18, 2016

Monster earthworms — the largest ever found on British soil — have been discovered on a Scottish island, researchers announced.

The worms — four times the size of regular earthworms– are about 16 inches long — the length of a European black adder snake.

“These things have just been left and have grown bigger and bigger,” Dr. Kevin Butt, who led the team of scientists, told The Daily Express.

The worms were able to grow…and grow on the Isle of Rum because of a lack of predators, plenty of grub and minimal pollution, according to the research done at the University of Central Lancashire.

The worms may seem the stuff of B-movie classics such as “Squirm,” but the gentle giants are actually doing a lot of good.

“They’re just as important as bees are in pollinating plants,” Butt said. “They help aerate the soil and drain away water and stop surface erosion.”

The Brit worms are dwarfs compared to the largest in the world–Australia’s Giant Gippsland earthworm, which measures an average of 3.3 feet in length.