Anaconda's Are Usually Found In The Swamps Of South America - Not West Pilton

A 4ft-long yellow anaconda has been rescued by a street cleaner who found it lying next to a fence in Edinburgh.

Gordon Fraser came across the reptile in West Pilton Bank and initially thought it was toy - until it moved and he realised it was alive.

He coaxed the constrictor snake into a box and took him back to the depot before calling the Scottish SPCA.

The snake is now being cared for at the charity's Edinburgh and Lothians Animal Rescue and Rehoming Centre in Balerno, where staff have named him William.

Mr Fraser said: "I noticed the snake lying behind some cardboard next to a fence and thought it was a toy at first. Then it moved and I realised it was real.

"The snake looked in really poor condition so I tried to coax him into a cardboard box and we took him back to the depot.

"I'm pretty shocked to find out the snake is an anaconda.

"My colleagues kept telling me not to touch him but I don't think he would have survived for much longer if I hadn't helped him.''

It is not known whether William escaped or was abandoned, and the charity is appealing for information about him.

Yellow anacondas are found in Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, western Brazil and north-eastern Argentina.

They inhabit swampy savannah, marshes, banks of rivers and streams (not usually West Pilton Park!).