Snake on a train shocks passengers heading to Leeds

Train passengers switched carriages after a 1.5m (5ft) snake was spotted slithering on a service in Yorkshire.

Northern said the brightly-coloured but harmless corn snake was found on a Skipton to Leeds train.

Photos and video of the non-venomous commuter were shared on social media before it was removed in Leeds.

The serpent, now named Noodles, was collected by the RPSCA and is being cared for by a specialist.

Corn snakes are native to North America and are one of the most commonly kept exotic pets in the UK.

It is currently unclear how the snake ended up loose onboard the service on Saturday, with some passengers said to have switched carriages after the discovery.

The rail firm said a conductor was alerted to the snake at about 15:30 BST.

"The conductor's priority was the safety of our customers and for the wellbeing of the snake," a Northern spokesperson said.

"They ensured the area of the train was cleared, and were met at Leeds station by a team who safely took the snake off the train."

The snake is being cared for at Reptilia in Ossett, Wakefield.

Megan Sykes, a manager at the reptile specialist, said: "It's in really good health, so it was obviously looked after well before either it was lost or dumped somewhere.

"It's a lovely snake, it's not showing any signs of aggression at all - it'd be more scared of the people on the train."

She continued: "Someone said it originally came out of a bin on the train, so that makes me think it may have been dumped."

If its owners do not make contact in the next fortnight, a new home will be found for Noodles.

The RSPCA said it had just last month warned owners to be "extra-vigilant" as snakes become more active during hot weather.

Evie Button, the RSPCA's senior scientific officer, said last year the charity received 1,031 reports involving snakes in need of help.

"Snakes are excellent escape artists and will take the opportunity of a gap in an enclosure door, or a loose-fitting lid to make a break for it," she said.

"Last year, we took more than one thousand reports about snakes, with the highest number of calls coming in during the summer months."

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