Passengers on a plane from Israel to the UK had a shock when they realised a snake was on the plane.

One of their fellow travellers had the unusual item, curled up in a container.

EasyJet says the snake was harmless and those on board were not in any danger but they called out authorities to meet the plane when it landed at Luton at on Wednesday.

“EasyJet can confirm that a passenger brought a small, pet snake in a container on board a flight from Tel Aviv to Luton,” a spokeswoman said.

“As soon as crew became aware of this they dealt with the issue in a professional manner, immediately contacting the authorities to ensure they met the aircraft at Luton.”

Police said say they received a call from the airport telling them a passenger was believed to have a snake with them.

“We met the passenger when disembarking from the plane and he was spoken to by officials,” a spokesman said.

“He wasn’t detained and left with the snake.”