A Thames Water engineer rescued a deadly metre-long cobra which had slithered into Basingstoke Sewage Works - the snake was spotted as workers carried out an inspection at the site on Thursday November 7.

Cobras are native to the South American tropics, sparking the theory this one was kept as a pet nearby and was either dumped or escaped.

The snakes are aggressive venomous predators, feeding on things like tadpoles, fish, frogs, reptiles, mammals and birds.

The cobra appeared lethargic because of the cold weather, so one of the Thames Water engineers carefully picked it up and put it in a bag, before the RSPCA came to take it away.

Sewage works manager Kenny Masters commented:

"We see some weird and wonderful things thanks to some of the bizarre objects that end up in the sewers - but a metre-long cobra slithering across the footpath in front of us is definitely up there.

"We don’t think it was flushed down a toilet as there's no way it would have survived - our machinery which filters out everything other than pee, poo and paper would have killed it. I can only fathom it was released or escaped.”

RSPCA animal welfare officer Justine Hermon said:

“When the call came through, we were expecting it to be a common species such as a grass snake or a pet corn snake.

“As an exotic animal specialist, my colleague Phil Hamilton attended the incident and when he arrived at the sewage plant he saw straight away this was a more unusual type of snake.

“We have now taken the snake to a nearby specialist facility where it will be cared for it until its owner can be tracked down or it can be rehomed. Thankfully, it is in good condition and is eating well. We’re grateful to the Thames Water staff who found the snake and got in touch as this snake would not have fared well in the cold weather.

“It is possible this snake escaped from a property in the local area, in which case someone will be missing their beloved pet. The owner, or anyone with information, can contact the RSPCA on 0300 123 8018.

Last year, Basingstoke Sewage Works began producing enough energy from waste to power the whole site, following a £53 million upgrade to treble its energy generation capacity. It is one of only a handful of sites in Thames Water’s area to meet all its own energy needs, reducing both its carbon footprint and operating costs.