A deadly, venomous snake frightened members of the public in County Durham - but it later turned out to be an abandoned rubber toy.
A brown-coloured cobra was spotted on top of a wheelie bin in Shildon on Wednesday, December 11, and one brave resident managed to secure it in a plastic tub before calling the RSPCA.
But animal welfare officer Ron Crawford was somewhat surprised when he went to inspect the animal.
Ron said: "Unfortunately, we are called out to a lot of snakes that have been abandoned - often by owners who have taken them on without realising how much of a commitment they are and without understanding the specialist care they need.
“However, once I arrived at the scene I quickly realised this wasn’t your usual snake abandonment - and the snake in question was in fact a toy!
“The caller was lucky it was rubber and not real - cobra can be extremely dangerous.”
