Children had a lucky escape after digging up a 5ft python.

The six youngsters found the snake in Pudney Wood, Clacton, after it had been buried by someone.

They dragged the Borneo blood python 300 yards before the council was alerted by a passer-by and came to pick it up.

However, it is uncertain whether the snake was alive when the children found it.

The passer-by, who did not want to be named, said: "I just went to the shops and when I came back I saw them mucking about with it.

"They were picking it up and throwing it. Then they buried it again."

Children found it in the wood's entrance near Flatford Drive. When Tendring Council officers found the snake it had received a severe head injury and was dead.

A council spokesman said of whoever buried the snake: "This was a totally irresponsible act. We took the call very seriously as snakes are known to hibernate and we had no way of knowing if this specimen was really dead.

"The thought that these children could have unearthed a live snake conjures a very frightening picture."

Mick Powell, chairman of the British Reptile and Amphibian Society, said this type of python does not grow much larger than 5ft.

He added: "They can be quite nasty, they can be nippy and they've got a good set of teeth to prove it."

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