Animal welfare officers are looking for the owners of a 10-foot long boa constrictor found in a garden in Ilfracombe.

The snake was found hanging from a tree by the owner of the garden on Saturday.

The RSPCA was called in to unwind the snake from the tree's branches.

It was put into a duvet cover and was taken to an animal clinic in Barnstaple, north Devon.

In August last year an eight-year-old girl was strangled and killed by an 11-foot long python in the United States

Inspector Nevin Hunter

Diana Lewis, the RSPCA animal collection officer who took the snake away, said it would not have survived long in the wild as it needs heat and light.

"Despite being cold and lethargic the snake was strong and heavy and was trying to wrap itself around my arm as I unwound it from the tree," she said.

The RSPCA wants to see boas and other constrictor snakes to be included under the Dangerous Wild Animals Act.

Inspector Nevin Hunter, the Devon and Cornwall police wildlife liaison officer, said dumping non-indigenous animals could result in a two-year jail sentence.

"It is hard to see how a snake of this size could accidentally escape," he said.

He added: "In August last year an eight-year-old girl was strangled and killed by an 11-foot long python in the United States.

"The snake found at Ilfracombe could potentially have caused the same type of fatality and posed a danger to pets."