AN unusual visitor to a York street caused quite a commotion when it was spotted by workmen as it slithered along the footpath.

Mystery surrounds the appearance of this Californian king snake, which was found in Dale Street, off Scarcroft Road.

Dale Street resident Hugh Bernays, 60, gave the snake a temporary home in a recycling basket until RSPCA inspectors took the animal away.

He said: “It was the builders who noticed it. They are repairing the path in the street.

“They said it came out from either the ginnel or a drainpipe, then it went in to my yard then came out again from under my gate.

“They put it in my recycling bin with a cloth.”

Mr Bernays said the plight of the brown and white striped snake touched the whole street.

He said: “You would get a snake in a street and think people would run for the hills, but there was genuine concern from everyone.York is a city of pet lovers.

“I don’t have any idea where it has come from but I know they are very commonly kept as pets.”

A member of staff at specialist reptile shop, Leaping Lizards, in Acomb, said the species was harmless.

He said: “It wouldn’t have caused anybody any harm. You would probably find you would get a worse bite from a hamster.

“We find that when snakes have escaped it’s because their owners haven’t secured their tanks properly. It could be kids opening them. It’s not that the snakes are escape artists.”

The latest find comes one week after The Press told how residents in Osbaldwick Lane spotted a three-foot long dwarf boa constrictor curled up on the pavement.

It emerged the snake which escaped was one of more then 50 kept at the nearby home of a snake enthusiast.