Brits warned invasive snake that grows up to 2 metres long is secretly lurking in attics and WALLS

AN invasive snake that tin turn up to 2 metres agelong has survived successful the UK by secretly crawling up into people's attics, a daze caller survey has revealed.

A radical of Aesculapian snakes were tracked going into attics and partition cavities to question warmth and breed, researchers claim.

The taxon is not autochthonal to the UK - and fortunately they're non-venomous too.

They were introduced into the chaotic accidentally successful the 1970s aft escaping from the Welsh Mountain Zoo.

Experts from Bournemouth University sought to recognize however the taxon has survived each this clip successful an country that could get excessively acold for them.

So, they added vigor tracking to travel the movements of 13 males and 8 females regular implicit 2 progressive seasons.

It showed that females spent agelong periods inactive during the outpouring and aboriginal summer, preferring woodland areas.

They besides similar compost heaps, which were utilized to store eggs successful 1 case.

But astir of the males opted to usage buildings arsenic structure sites instead.

"We observed Aesculapian snakes actively seeking and returning to usage inhabited buildings and were observed climbing ample structures to entree the attics and partition cavities of houses," the researchers wrote successful their yet-to-be peer-reviewed study.

"This attraction towards anthropogenic features is antithetic behaviour compared with autochthonal snake taxon successful the UK that often debar built up municipality areas."

Aesculapian are autochthonal to continental Europe but they person 3 known populations successful the UK today.

North Wales - wherever the 1970s flight took spot - but besides Bridgend and successful the Camden country of London, mostly on Regents Canal, according to the Natural History Museum.

The UK lone has 3 taxon of autochthonal snake.

The largest is the Grass snake, which tin turn up to 150cm long.

They are often recovered successful gardens, wetland and grassland areas.

The Adder snake is the lone venomous snake recovered successful the UK.

According to the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), the Adder is estimated to origin astir 50 bites a twelvemonth - but precise fewer necessitate immoderate aesculapian treatment.

The UK's 3rd autochthonal snake is the Smooth snake, which is small, non-venomous and seldom encountered.