Shocked shoppers discovered a boa constrictor snake eating a pigeon on an East London high street this week.

The snake was seen coiled around the bird on the pavement outside a shop on Leytonstone High Road on Saturday morning. A bemused passer-by recorded the bizarre event on his phone before the snake was taken away by the charity the RSPCA (Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals)

The snake is not indigenous to England and the RSPCA believe it was a pet that had escaped or been abandoned. They did not believe the snake had hunted it down its prey the said the snake must have found a dying or injured pigeon and then decided to turn it into a tasty snack. Some witnesses claimed someone had fed the boa constrictor the already dead pigeon.