A bereft pet owner has been looking for her missing snake for weeks now. 

Charlie Orchard, 28, has been on the lookout for the missing corn snake Norman, who has not been seen for around three months. 

The runaway reptile had been rescued by Charlie after he was handed into the vets that she worked at three years ago, having been found as a stray. 

But he was able to escape his vivarium at his home on Croft Road after popping out a vent and then, in his owner's words, 'did a runner'. 

Despite the length of time it has been since Norman's whereabouts were last known, Charlie has not given up hope of finding him and has issued a public appeal asking for people to keep an eye out for him. 

In the post, shared on the Swindon Community Notice Board, she said: "Norman is still missing, there's been absolutely no trace of him at all.

"He's around 5.5ft and fairly chunky and bright yellow so will be hard to miss if you do come across him!!

"Been missing around 12 weeks now. Corn snakes can easily survive a year plus after escaping, so still haven't lost hope.

"Please share around the Swindon area as he can be anywhere if he's managed to escape the house and get into an engine bay!"

She added that people should not be scared of Norman.

"If you find him please don't be worried to pick him up! He is tame and very used to being handled, although he may be scared. Corn Snakes DO NOT have fangs so will not hurt if they bite!"

Her appeal has since been shared over 220 times, with members of the public telling Charlie they hoped that she would be reunited with Norman and offering advice. 

One person said: "Ours was lost for 6 months! It was all through winter, we found him under the floorboards, alive and well! Fingers crossed you find him soon!"

Another said: "We lost our corn snake for 6 weeks. Found him in the neighbour's gas meter box. They tend to not go far from home. Fingers crossed you will find him soon."

Wiltshire Reptile Rescue has confirmed it does not have a snake that matches Norman's description