A HUGE snake that bit a dog in the face dog has been living for the past two years on a football field used by youngsters.

Experts are hunting for the 10ft snake, possibly a Burmese python, at Otham near Maidstone, after the Kent Messenger newspaper raised the alarm.

Janice McNaughton, of Fielding Drive, Larkfield, believes the snake may be an abandoned pet. Mrs McNaughton, who owns Otham Sports Club, near Bearsted, let it live wild because she did not want to harm it.

But this week Mrs McNaughton’s 16-year-old collie, Mona, had a stand-off with the brown and black snake underneath the football pavilion and came off worst when it bit her face.

Mona had to have emergency surgery to remove one of her eyes. Mrs McNaughton is now desperate to find someone to remove the snake.

The first time she spotted it she thought it was a rolled up carpet. She said: “I am not scared of snakes, but when it moved the first time I saw it, it frightened the life out of me.”

A local reptile expert told her he believed it was a Burmese Python.

Mrs McNaughton said: “Two years ago the snake found a foxhole so it was happy. It had 17 acres to enjoy. He seemed fine, I called him Monty. But I have just had a new car park put down so we made him homeless”

She added: “I really didn’t think he was dangerous. Now I just want him to be rescued.”

She added: “I have tried to get people to help me - the RSPCA, the police, the council - but nobody wants to know.”

However, both Maidstone Council and the RSPCA promised action after being contacted by the KM.

A council spokesman said: “We will be working with the relevant authorities to safely catch it. We have an exotic pets expert on standby to help with its capture. We have advised the club, and we would advise everyone else, not to approach it.”

Peter Couchman, groundsman for Bearsted Football Club which plays on the ground, said he had spotted Monty early one morning last year, curled up. He said: “It's a big old thing.”

Mark Brann of the Exotic Pet Centre in Union Street, Maidstone, said: “It is big enough to eat a dog if it is 10ft long.”

Mr Brann, who said he would be prepared to visit the site to catch the snake, added: “Burmese pythons get so big - if it is a python and 10ft long, it will be five or six years old. They can grow to 24ft.”

Anyone who spots the snake should call the council on 01622 602202 or, out of hours, on 01622 212700.