A tropical snake has been filmed eating a pigeon on a busy east London street.
Dave Fawbert spotted the boa constrictor, thought to be an abandoned pet, on High Road, Leytonstone, on Saturday morning.

The RSPCA has since taken the reptile to a wildlife centre and is appealing for information about how it may have come to be in the street.

A spokeswoman for the charity said it appeared "someone had found a dead pigeon and then given it to the snake".

Mr Fawbert said the snake was "100% eating the pigeon, it had its jaw open wrapped around it and the head was half-way in already".

He added that he had hoped to see a snake in the wild while on safari in Tanzania a few years ago. "I never did, but I guess now I have," he said.

His Twitter post of the reptile has been shared more than 4,000 times.

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Dave Fawbert@DaveFawbert

Just a python eating a pigeon on Leytonstone High Road

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Many described the animal as a python, but the RSPCA confirmed it is a boa constrictor.

Mr Fawbert said when he discovered the animal on the pavement between a parked car and a row of shops one passer-by screamed.

But soon a big crowd gathered, he added.

Source:BBC