ISN’T it time there were tighter laws when it comes to buying reptile pets?

Last week two pythons - one 9ft and the other 3ft long - were found in woodland at Ainsbury Avenue in Thackley, and this week a third snake, about 5ft long, was seen at the same location. The three snakes are believed to have been dumped at the same time.

How utterly irresponsible, not to mention cruel, to leave such creatures in a public place. I’d be horrified to come across a 9ft albino python. It must be a terrifying experience, especially to see snakes of this size on the loose. Even though they’re not poisonous, they can attack and would be a threat to anyone walking a dog, riding a horse or out with young children.

The fact that the first two snakes were found in duvets suggests that they were left there deliberately. None of the snakes looked in good health, and the 9ft albino python was close to death, according to reptile expert Peter Schofield who came to the snakes’ aid.

Even if it’s the case that someone could no longer look after them, or simply got bored of them, the least they could have done would be to hand them to the RSPCA or a reptile rescue organisation.

Anyone who takes on such a high maintenance pet really needs to know what they’re doing. It’s a huge commitment, requiring some prior research so you know exactly what’s involved. There are some excellent wildlife and reptile organisations that offer advice on responsible pet ownership.

Sadly, once the reality and expense of caring for an exotic creature kicks in, they’re not such a thrill. Some owners soon realise they’re out of their depth, or the novelty wears off, and many of these pets end up neglected and abandoned.

A friend’s teenage son recently moaned that he was already bored of his bearded dragon, just a few months after buying him from a pet shop on impulse. “It doesn’t do anything, it’s a bit boring. I might take it back,” he said. Someone else I know has a snake that’s a decade old, after buying it for her daughter as a pet. With the daughter now at university, the mother is left to feed the snake, dutifully thawing out frozen mice. The poor creature seems to spend most of its life in a tank underneath a bookcase in a back bedroom.

I don’t think snakes, iguanas and other reptiles should be sold as pets at all in this country. The climate isn’t right for them, and invariably they’re cooped up in tanks in bedrooms and living-rooms, occasionally being allowed to scuttle across the carpet or wriggle about on the lawn for half an hour. It’s no quality of life.

I once spent a day with an RSPCA inspector and we were called to retrieve an escaped snake. He said it often happens, due to careless owners or those who tire of such pets and simply release them.

If reptiles must be traded as pets, surely there should be some procedure in place to ensure that they’re placed with owners who have the skills and knowledge to provide the level of care and commitment they need.

It concerns me that there don’t appear to be such regulations, and inevitably many reptiles end up in the wrong hands.

Maybe it should be compulsory for them to be chipped, so that owners can be traced if their pet escapes or is dumped or neglected.

A microchip procedure might mean that these beautiful exotic creatures stand a better chance of a decent life, with owners who look after them properly - not with someone who thinks it’s okay to dump them, half starved, wrapped in a duvet.

* IDRIS Elba fuelled speculation that he’s to become the next 007, by posting a selfie captioned: “My name’s Elba, Idris Elba”. He later tweeted: “Don’t believe the HYPE”, which may or may not refer to a possible title of the next Bond movie.

Surely if he was signed up to be Bond, there’d be a big glossy ‘reveal’, stage managed to within an inch of its life by a ruthless PR team, not just a couple of cryptic tweets.

I don't care who plays the next Bond (although my money's on James Norton), as long as it’s not a woman. James Bond was written as a very specific male character. If someone wants to create a female spy, fine, but that should be a whole new concept.

Would the movie industry accept a male Ripley or Lara Croft? I doubt it.

* WAITING at traffic lights recently, I saw four people walking along together, all hunched over mobile phones. Behind them was a little boy, skipping dangerously close to the busy road. Not one of them bothered to hold his hand, or turn around to check he was safe. Too engrossed in their phones to pay him any attention.

Next day I saw a couple in a cafe, both glued to mobiles, totally ignoring the toddler with them. Probably too busy scrolling through endless "kids say the cutest things" fb posts to actually talk to their own kid...