Footage shows a 17ft-long king cobra killing a python as the smaller snake desperately tries to break free.

The two serpents were spotted entwined under a palm tree on holiday resort Krabi, Thailand, yesterday morning.

Residents called the emergency services who arrived and nervously spent three hours watching as the 5ft-long python wrapped itself around the cobra’s head.

The python desperately tried to evade the cobra’s attack but it was doomed.

With the python’s grip released, the cobra slithered away.

Rescuers caught the dark-black adult cobra and locked it into a cage to be taken away to the jungle to be released.

Chief rescuer Khun Napawan said: ‘’We were informed by a 23-year-old witness that there were two big snakes in the oil palm plantation.

‘’We arrived with a team of five people and found a python, 1.5 meters long, strapped around the head of a large King Cobra which was longer than five meters.

‘’Both snakes were still alive. After more than three hours, the king cobra started moving and the python started loosening.

''Then, the king cobra crept into the pond next to the palm garden about 30 meters away. The python was dead but because there were so many people watching, the cobra could not eat it.

''The villagers then rush to find the snake. It is found in the water. It has caught and caught in the end. Then put it in a cage to prepare for release in the forest.’’