Police are hunting an escaped eight-foot boa constrictor after it slipped away from its owners in Cumbria.
The non-venomous snake, which is a household pet, found it way out of the home in Kells, Whitehaven, after it was left momentarily unattended while being cleaned, Cumbria police said.
The boa constrictor, one of the biggest snakes in the world, kills its prey by wrapping itself around the animal and suffocating it.
Boa constrictors, anacondas and some other pythons are thought to cut off the blood supply of prey
A Cumbria police spokesperson said: "The animal does not pose an immediate risk to the public, however if sighted advice is not to approach it and to contact police immediately."
It is not the first time a boa constrictor has escaped its owner in the UK.
In July last year police in Lancashire warned that small children could be at risk after an eight-foot boa constrictor went missing from a home in Skelmersdale.
Read more:
Boa constrictors found to 'cut off the blood supply' of prey
Small children warned over boa constrictor 'loose in Lancashire'
Boa constrictor rescued from behind car dashboard
Boa Constrictor snake called Petzy on the loose in Merseyside
In Bristol, it took three hours to extract a five foot boa constrictor from behind a car dashboard after it had escaped its owner’s rucksack on the way to the vets.
A year earlier, a five-foot boa constrictor known as ‘Petzy’ was reported missing after it escaped from a house in Merseyside.
Anyone who sees the snake is asked to contact police on 101.
