The snake was named Ben after the new Open golf champion

The snake slithered across the fairway of one of the holes at Baxenden and District Golf Club, near Accrington.

After pursuing it, the group of golfers managed to get the snake into a box and called the RSPCA for help. It is now being looked after at a specialist centre in Manchester.

The boa was later named Ben - after Ben Curtis, the virtual unknown player who won the Open Golf Championship at the weekend.

Jimmy Ratcliff, one of the RSPCA's two north west exotic animals officers, said Ben could have died if the weather had been as hot as in the previous week.

'Unsuitable pets'

"Unfortunately, RSPCA officers are called to collect hundreds of abandoned or unwanted exotic animals like this every month," he said.

"They are becoming increasingly common as pets - but too many people fail to understand the huge commitment that is required."

He said the RSPCA believes snakes should not become people's pets, because they are "unsuitable as companion animals".

"There are two possible reasons for finding this snake where it was - either it was an escaped pet or it has been abandoned," added Mr Ratcliff.

Boa constrictors are commonly found in tropical forests in South America.

They are from the family of constricting snakes, which kill their prey through asphyxiation and can grow to more than 9ft long.