SYDNEY (Reuters) - A pet python called "Bread" was confiscated by New South Wales Police on Wednesday (July 20) after the snake's owner started showing him off on a train.

Bread, a 1m-long diamond python, was pulled out of a backpack by a 20-year-old man on a northbound Central Coast train, with worried passengers calling the police concerned for the snake's safety.

Police met the man at Woy Woy train station, 80km north of Sydney, at 1am and took the yellow-and-black snake when the owner said he did not have a permit for it. "If I could give one piece of advice, don't get your snake out on a train," Brisbane Waters Police Commander Superintendent Danny Sullivan said.

The man was expected to be arrested for possessing and displaying protected fauna which carries a penalty of A$300, the police said.

Bread was taken to the Australian Reptile Park in Somersby, 50km north of Sydney, and was in good health, Supt Sullivan added.