An elderly fisherman in Thailand was shocked after pulling in his net and finding a huge python inside.

Jon Nanthaphodech, 72, laid his net in the stream in Udon Thani, northeastern Thailand, last Friday (25/10) afternoon, when he noticed one was unusually heavy.

The pensioner peered inside and noticed the 10ft long reptile thrashing around. He called the police who sent the rescue foundation to help.

The veteran fisherman said: ''There were times when snakes were stuck in our fishing net but we never kill them or hurt them because we do not have any purpose to do so.

"We usually handle them ourselves but this time it was a big one and I could not lift it by myself. I was afraid that it could hurt me after I released it so I asked the rescuers for help.

"It's unusual to catch such a big snake so I'm planning to buy some lottery tickets to celebrate."

The rescuer workers pulled the python from the net to before releasing it into the wild.