Mr Newman said the turtle would probably end up in a zoo and he believed it had been deliberately released.
“I can only assume someone deliberately released her: they are not animals that easily escape. Turtles do not get out of enclosures easily.
“Unfortunately quite a lot turtles get released in this country. It is completely illegal. The problem with snapping turtles is they are predators, they eat fish, newts and things like that. They can have an impact on the environment.”
He added that they get three or four calls a year about snapping turtles with previous call-outs including Fluffy, an alligator snapping turtle, which was saved from a Cumbrian tarn two years ago.
Evie Button, exotic pets expert at the RSPCA said: “It is illegal, under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, to release non-native species such as snapping turtles, into the wild.
“These animals have extremely powerful jaws and should never be handled by an inexperienced person so we would urge anyone who finds one in need of help (e.g. injured, trapped etc) not to approach it themselves but instead to contact the RSPCA or a local reptile expert who can help.
“A snapping turtle is not a good choice of pet for an inexperienced reptile keeper; they need a lot of space and can be dangerous if handled incorrectly. Recreating their conditions – including environment, diet and behavioural requirements – can also be difficult and costly, and exotic pets often end up in our care, or others in the animal welfare sector, later down the line when people realise they’re not easy to care for, or once the novelty wears off.
“We would urge anyone thinking of getting an exotic animal as a pet to do lots of research first to ensure that it is the right pet for them and that they are able to meet all of its needs.”