A SIX-foot python found dumped on a supermarket car park in East Lancashire has been rescued by the RSPCA.

Now a warning has been issued by inspectors, after the Burmese python was discovered in a large plastic tub on the Tesco car park, off Centenary Way in Burnley.

Police alerted the charity after they had been contacted by a member of the public last Friday afternoon, at around 12.30pm.

The only clues regarding the snake, which was found in a healthy condition, were the words 'Brazilian Rainbow Boa £170’ and 'WEST' written on the top of the box.

An RSPCA inspector said: "This poor snake was abandoned in Tesco car park and left in a plastic box in temperatures not suitable for an ectothermic animal.

"Snakes aren’t able to produce their own body heat so they rely on their environment to maintain their body temperature.

"If they become too cold they may be unable to feed or move normally, and their immune system will not work properly to fight disease, meaning the animal can become very ill."

The charity says that they often end up with abandoned snakes 'when the novelty wears off' and people realise how much care the likes of pythons require.

The snake is now being cared for by a specialist reptile centre.

If anyone has any information about how the snake came to be abandoned then they are being urged to contact the RSPCA inspectorate's appeal line on 0300 123 8018.