Shock in Calderdale village as 12 larges snakes found dumped in street

The reptiles - which are believed to be royal pythons - were found in the Thornhills Lane and Jay House Lane areas of Clifton, near Brighouse.

The snakes are thought to have been dumped - along with a cream leather sofa - from a white Mitsubishi pick-up that was seen in the area last week.

Several of the creatures were found by dog walkers and 12 have now been recovered, although some have since died.

Royal pythons - also known as ball pythons - are native to Africa and are popular pets. They are non-venomous, killing their prey by constriction, and can grow up to 182cm in length, making them the smallest African python species.

It's been speculated that the Brighouse snakes may have been unwanted pets abandoned by an owner who was no longer able or willing to care for them.

They are unlikely to be able to survive for long outside due to the cold temperatures.

Sarah Tindal and her husband Chris, a biologist, have rescued several of the snakes and taken them to a vet for treatment after sightings were reported on their neighbourhood Whatsapp group.

Some of the animals were found to be severely dehydrated.

"The first snake spotted was early on Thursday morning when I was on my way to work. A settee had been fly-tipped by the viaduct and as I drove past I saw what looked like a snake coming out of the wall by the settee," said Sarah.

"I called my husband to come and take a look, but really I thought it was just a piece of fabric. It turned out to be a snake that seemed to be stuck. My husband pulled it out, thought it was dead and took it home. He placed it on the window sill and as it warmed up in the sun, it came round and we realised that it wasn't dead at all. That snake was taken to a local college to be cared for by animal technicians.

"The next morning our neighbour called us to say there were four snakes up the road in a field by a lay-by. We, along with another neighbour who cares for animals, went up and placed them in pillow cases. One had an injury to its tail. Our neighbour took those four to Donaldson Vets in Huddersfield. It turns out three of those died but the one with the tail injury has so far survived.

"My husband did a search of the area now and found three more in the wall where the original one was found. One of these was dead but the other two were rescued.

"We thought that was it, but then later that day we got a call from another neighbour to say that someone walking had found one making its way across the road. When we got there, this snake was lively and looked healthy.

"We really did think that would be it but the next morning, we got another call from a neighbour to say there was one hanging out of the wall where the first one had been found. When we got there, we thought that one was dead, but again, we got it out and took it to the vets where it later died. We decided to do a thorough search of the wall and found two more which we took to the vets.

"Twelve snakes were found, five have sadly died and the others are either at the vets or are being cared for.

"It's all very strange, but for now we have had over 24 hours with no reports of any more snakes. It's possible there are still some out there but they are not likely to have survived since the temperatures have dropped."

The incident has been reported to West Yorkshire Police and anyone with any information about the suspicious vehicle should contact the force on 101.