A corn snake rescued by estate agents was almost reunited with the wrong family whose own pet reptile is still on the slither.

The snake, dubbed Martin by staff at Martin & Co, South Croydon, was handed into the RSPCA on May 8 after featuring in The Croydon Guardian, sparking hope from a family whose own pet Daisy, had gone missing days earlier.

Anjie Bowen and her daughter Eloise, from Sanderstead, were shocked to the discover, while attempting to claim the snake on Sunday, it was not hers.

Mrs Bowen said: "I guess it means Daisy is still out there. It is pretty surprising there were two corn snakes wild in South Croydon."

The family’s disappointment didn’t last as they decided to adopt a third corn snake, rescued by RSPCA staff from Swanley.

Eloise, seven, said: "I feel really happy to have a new snake; I decided to call her Sunset because she is bright orange."

The RSPCA holds rescued animals for seven days, before beginning the re-homing process and Martin is still in its care.

A spokesperson for the RSPCA said: "Snakes, like other reptiles, are notoriously difficult to look after. Our inspectors regularly have to rescue lost snakes and quite often they are sadly never returned to their owners."

Eloise said: "I would be really happy if we got Daisy back, but I’m going to get Sunset out more and cuddle her and then she won’t escape."