Snake catchers in India rescue a monocled cobra with a liquor bottle cap stuck on its head, preventing it from eating or drinking.

As the bottle had weathered, a plastic socket had come loose from its cap. The snake put its head inside probably out of curiosity and the socket had stuck to its mouth like a ring.

A resident of Sunabeda spotted the cobra, unable to eat or drink, writhing desperately to get rid of the socket and called Snake Helpline for help.

A volunteer Sujit Mohanty, along with a friend, Rakesh Behera, caught the snake, but removing the bottle cap proved a challenge.

The cobra was aggressive and kept swiping at them and there was a real danger of them suffering a deadly bite from the poisonous snake.

Sujith carefully held the snake by its head and pinned it down, while Rakesh removed the plastic socket with pliers. They gently removed the dirt that had hardened around cobra’s mouth with a toothbrush and then released it back in the forest.

Subhendu Mallik founder of Snake Helpline said: "Fortunately, the snake had been probably trapped for less than a week. It was healthy and we could release it back immediately.

"This was just one more instance of irresponsible waste disposal taking a toll on wildlife," he added.

This rescue was filmed on March 9.