A park ranger was shocked after a king cobra slithered into his car engine.

Sarot Lookmanee, 54, was walking to the office's parking lot when he noticed the snake chasing after a stray dog in Trang, southern Thailand, on January 30.

While Sarot was assessing the situation, he noticed the reptile dart under his car and disappear up into the mechanics.

The forest boss contacted volunteer rescuers to catch the aggressive snake and they spent 20 minutes dragging the serpent out of the engine.

Head rescuer Sawai Keawjua said the fierce cobra was difficult to catch because of its size.

He said: "It took more than twenty minutes to pull it out of the car because of its length and aggression."

No one was harmed by the snake and it was estimated to be 13ft long and weigh 33Ibs.

Park staff and villagers came the scene to watch the tussle with the snake before it was put in a sack and released into the woodland.

Rescuers believe the snake might have been hungry due to the region's dry conditions which have caused swamps to dry out, depleting the food source for snakes.