A MILKMAN who showed a lot of bottle has relived the moment he came face to face with a tropical snake on his morning round.

And as if that wasn't unusual enough, David Pollard, 47, was amazed to discover that the 3ft-long red and black striped reptile was... a milk snake.

He spotted the creature, which was in the process of eating a blackbird, as he delivered milk to a house in Harwood Road, Rishton, at around 4am yesterday.

David, of Blackburn Road, Great Harwood, said: "I was just delivering the milk to this house and at the side of me I saw this snake.

"I didn't think it was real at first but then all of a sudden it moved.

"I shouted to my son Tom, who was helping me with my round, and he came over to have a look.

"I don't particularly like snakes but I wasn't scared. I didn't think it would hurt me because it had a bird and I had already walked past it once to put the milk down.

"It was certainly a bit of a coincidence that it was a milk snake!"

As David and Tom, 11, left they saw a police car coming down the road, so they flagged it down.

A box was put over the creature to keep it from slithering off and the RSPCA were called.

But not until the officer had checked with Lorna Bent, whose house the snake was outside, to find out if she was missing a treasured pet.

Lorna, 51, was able to assure them that it was not hers and that she was glad to see the back of it after finding it inside her house about two weeks ago.

She said: "My son Chris saw it and thought it was a fake one that had been put there as a joke.

"My husband, Dennis, and I thought he was joking when he asked who had put that snake in the porch.

"We went to look at it and it reared up. Chris went to find something to grab it and put it in but it crawled under the floorboards.

"I called the RSPCA, but they said they didn't have time to search under the floorboards for it. They said it wasn't dangerous but I hate anything like that.

"I've been looking around the floor every day to see if it was there so I'm relieved it has finally been caught."

James Ratcliffe, an RSPCA officer and one of only two regional exotic co-ordinators, was sent to pick up the snake.

He said: "I couldn't believe it when I was told that it was actually a milkman who found the milk snake.

"It must have escaped and found its way into the house where it is nice and warm as they don't like being cold.

"They don't usually bite but it had been snapping.

"I captured it using a pillow case and as they like the heat I had to have the heating on in the van full blast. It will stay with me for seven days to give his owners chance to find him."