A woman who cut off and swallowed the heads of two pet snakes has escaped a prison sentence.
Snakes, file picture
Jennifer Lampe, 28, was handed a four-month suspended sentence after subjecting the reptiles to a ''prolonged and painful suffering'' before they eventually died.
Lampe, of Church Stretton in Shropshire, had been drinking whisky, amaretto and lager before carrying out the brutal act on April 8, RSPCA prosecutor Roger Price told Telford Magistrates' Court.
Lampe was living with her sister at the time, and became agitated after fearing she was no longer welcome at the home.
According to The Daily Telegraph, RSPCA prosecutor Roger Price said: ''When her sister saw the defendant in her bedroom she had a boa constrictor under her top and was covered in blood. About three-quarters of the snake could be seen. The defendant was hysterical.''