A missing boa constrictor that sparked a police hunt has been found – under the kitchen sink at its owner's home.
6:00AM BST 01 Jul 2011
Families were warned to keep their children and pets indoors after the deadly 7.5ft female snake, named Diva, went missing yesterday from its owner's home in Broom Crescent, Ipswich.
The snake was said to be "hungry and unfriendly", having not been fed for three weeks. Owner Abbigayle Harding, 27, said she feared her seven-year-old pet had escaped to find a mate because it was breeding season for boa constrictors.
She said the snake had broken a lock on her tank to get out.
Police said that they could not "rule out a danger to the public'' and that, although Diva was not venomous, she might bite if approached.
The snake normally eats small mammals but residents were warned that, when hungry, she could climb trees and pounce on her prey.
A nearby primary school banned its pupils from playing on its field, which was just 30 yards from the house.
The snake was found this afternoon, safe and well in the kitchen at Ms Harding's house.
Ms Harding told the BBC that she had an "inkling" that the snake could still have been in the house.
She used a dead rat to tempt Diva out from her hiding place under the kitchen sink, and said that she would be fitting two locks on the snake's tank to make sure that she did not escape again.
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