Officers at Ipswich Central Police station welcomed some unusual visitors yesterday after members of the public discovered two boa constrictors in an Ipswich park.

The two snakes, which can grow up to 13 feet long, were handed into Ipswich Central Police station after being abandoned.

But luckily it was a happy ending for the snakes, who were re-homed the same day after officers took them to a pet shop in Ipswich, called Viking Aquatics.

It’s unclear how the snakes turned up in the park – but according to Ricky Clarke, the store manager of Viking Aquatics, they were abandoned by their owners.

He said: “Tuesday morning we received a visit from a couple with two boa constrictors and they asked us whether we could take them in, but unfortunately we had no room.”

Ricky says he offered the customers advice on other rehoming options – including a number of groups on Facebook which could help take the snakes off of the couple’s hands.

According to Ricky, the pair then bought some food for the snakes and left happily.

But just two hours later, officers turned up at the pet shop with the two snakes which had been abandoned in Christchurch Park and had been handed in at the station.

Ricky continued: “Animals escape here and there, but for people to purposely abandon them is disgusting.

“If people abandon a dog social media goes into uproar, but if it’s a reptile no one seems to care – there is no excuse to abandon an animal.”

Luckily for the snakes, one of the store’s regular customers, who looks after 18 boa constrictors already, popped in and decided to rehome the snakes.

Ricky added: “I’m glad the snakes got their happy ending.”