One of the deadliest snakes in the world has been found on a boat docked in Aberdeen.

The green mamba was discovered on a cargo ship from West Africa, which arrived at the city's harbour on Wednesday.

The highly venomous reptile's bite can kill a human in less than 30 minutes without specialist treatment, experts say - and the closest anti-venom held in the UK is in London, almost 400 miles away from Aberdeen.

It is understood crew on the ship put the snake into a box themselves before contacting Scotland's animal welfare charity, the Scottish SCPA.

A police escort was called in to help animal officers as they collected it.


The charity said the mamba could not be kept at its centre in Aberdeenshire due to "severe health and safety concerns" over the anti-venom being so far away.

It was eventually put down after an unsuccessful attempt to find it a home with specialist reptile keepers.

Scottish SPCA chief inspector John Carle said: "The green mamba snake is one of the most deadly snakes in the world.

"It was picked up in Aberdeen by one of our animal rescue officers after arriving on a boat from Africa.

"Sadly the snake had to be put to sleep after our attempts to rehome it to specialist reptile keepers were unsuccessful.

"We could not keep the snake in our centre due to severe health and safety concerns, as the closest anti-venom is held in London."

The green mamba is usually found in African rainforests and feeds on small birds, rats, frogs and lizards, but some species are kept at homes in the UK under dangerous wild animal licences.

