
Litter pickers regularly encounter the same types of rubbish, from fast food cartons to cigarette wrappers.
But one eco-minded volunteer made an unusual discovery while litter picking on Good Friday.
Maria Clutterbuck picks litter daily and spotted two pillowcases by a wall in her hometown of Hucclecote, Gloucester.
At first she thought they were two bags of sand left over from road works, but closer inspection revealed the cases contained four large snakes.

Mrs Clutterbuck, 54, said: ‘I realised they were cable-tied pillowcases and I think then my gut instinct knew something alive was inside.
‘My first thought was that the bags might contain puppies or kittens, but I had a feel of the curves and it felt like snakeskin.
Then I nudged one of the pillowcases gently with my foot and it moved – I confess I squealed a bit.’
Mrs Clutterbuck made the discovery at 9pm and reported the discovery to emergency services as her local reptile shop was closed.
‘When I called the police, I did wonder how much of a fool I’d look if they turned out to be washing machine hoses or something,’ she added.

But I was 99 per cent sure they were snakes – and when the police arrived and opened them up, I was right.
‘The police came very quickly, I think they had been doubting if they were snakes.
‘But one of the police offers cut them open, and when she saw, she squealed as well.
‘They would not have survived the night – it was four degrees when I found them.
‘It got down to freezing that night too – they would not have survived the temperatures.’
Mrs Clutterbuck suspected the owner may have dumped the reptiles due to increasing energy bills and the cost to run a vivarium.