A 10ft long king cobra was rescued after getting stuck in a family's kitchen sink while hunting for rats.

The snake's tail was seen poking out of the narrow sink hole at the home in Pathum Thani, central Thailand, on Friday January 17.

Shocked residents called the emergency services who arrived to begin the difficult job of freeing the venomous reptile.

Rescuer worker Chonnatee Kruachot recorded one of the team smashing through tiles and a concrete wall before pulling the steel pipe out.

The cobra was then pulled out, with the plug hole still stuck around its neck, before being laid out on the ground so it could be cut free.

The snake suffered minor wounds during the ordeal but was saved and released back into nearby woodland.

Chonnatee said: "The snake probably thought it could go through a narrow tube, but it was too big to make it.

''I suspect it was chasing a rat or mouse into the hole and its instincts to catch the victim were so strong that it continued trying to force itself through the pipe.

''We had to help the snake without injuring him and ensure that the residents were safe, too.''