The second snake is now with his friend Ben

The RSPCA was called back to Baxenden and District Golf Club, near Accrington, on Wednesday, a day after the first snake was caught in the long grass.

The snake - which is four-foot-long, just like its friend - has been taken to specialists to ensure it has not been injured.

The RSPCA initially thought the first snake was an escaped pet, but now fear it may have been abandoned.

RSPCA inspector Dave Anforth said: "With the discovery of this second snake, the possibility that these are escaped pets has diminished.

"The more likely scenario is that they were abandoned. Whoever did that should be aware that this was an illegal act for which, if found guilty in court, they could be fined or even jailed."

The first snake - named Ben after Ben Curtis, last weekend's surprise winner of the Open - was caught by a group of golfers who managed to get it into a box.

Jimmy Ratcliff, one of the RSPCA's two north west exotic animals officers, said the RSPCA believes snakes should not become people's pets, because they are "unsuitable as companion animals".

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