The owner of a "massive" snake found on the loose in Lowestoft has yet to come forward 24 hours after it was found.

The corn snake measuring nearly two metres long was discovered by police in the Britten Road area of the town on Tuesday, August 2.

It was initially thought it could be a type of python and was "clearly a domestic snake and not one living in the wilds of Whitton", Lowestoft Police said.

And despite media coverage after an online appeal, it remains unclaimed at a nearby pet store.

%image(14353284, type="article-full", alt="A snake believed to be a "two metre long python" was spotted slithering on the loose in Lowestoft by police")

In a Facebook post made today (August 3), a spokesman for Lowestoft Police said: "I’m astounded that we have still not had an owner come forward yet. You’d like to think that if you lost a giant snake you would notice."

The cold-blooded creature remains in the hands of Pet Tank, which has been looking after the reptile since Tuesday morning.

Andy Meedham, who runs the store with his wife Sarah, said: "Nobody has come forward despite all the media coverage but the snake is doing well.

"Snakes can be pretty good escape artists. They are essentially one long big bag of muscle so can squeeze through lots of small gaps they may happen to find.

"Hopefully it is just a pet that has got out rather than somebody letting it loose."

It is not the first time Pet Tank has been called into action to help a reptile on the loose in Lowestoft.

Mr Meedham added: "It does happen from time to time when we have a member of the public bring them in or we go out and collect them.

"It tends to be snakes but we have also had to look after a bearded dragon and a chameleon before."

In 2016, a 5ft long iguana was found living up in a tree for three months in Pakefield.

It was later rescued using a cherry picker and was rehomed at a nearby petting zoo.

Elsewhere in the region, an escaped tortoise managed to cause delays to train services on Monday (August 1) after it was found wandering on railway tracks near Thetford.

Clyde, as he has become known, underwent surgery to repair his broken shell, which was damaged by a passing train.