White snake in cardboard box delivered to police

Aug. 23 (UPI) -- Police in Britain were left scratching their heads when a member of the public made an unusual delivery: a cardboard box containing a live snake.

Northumbria Police said officers "were puzzled when a large cardboard box, with holes punched through it, was handed over the counter by a member of the public."

"But their bewilderment soon turned to horror when they realized the massive reptile was having a kip inside," the department said in a Facebook post.

Police said the box contained a 6-foot snake initially thought to be an albino corn snake. Snake enthusiasts on Twitter suggested the serpent could also be a leucistic Texas rat snake.

The department said the woman who brought the snake to the station told officers she and a friend found it slithering in a Newcastle ally and captured it in the box.

Police dubbed the snake Sandra.

Sandra was turned over to the RSPCA, which is trying to identify the snake's owner.