Police, firefighters and Animal Rescue are still on the hunt for a giant python which has been at large near Warsaw.

Police tried to fish it out of the Vistula River on Tuesday but the snake slipped away.

The search for the reptile, both on land and in the water, started after residents of the area south of Warsaw found a freshly shed, five-metre-long skin on Saturday.

The snake could be six-metres long, officers said.

Officials have urged people to avoid walking in the open and by the Vistula, warning that the reptile could be hungry and aggressive.

Police do not know where the snake came from, but a witness has come forward who said he saw a man carrying a snake out of his car while he was flying his powered hang glider. Officers are investigating the lead.

(vb/pk)

Source: IAR