A terrified woman called for help after seeing a deadly spitting cobra hiding inside her car.

Nawapat Sinthudet, 27, noticed the black reptile slithering along the ground before disappearing inside the wheel in Ang Thong, Thailand.

She said: "I parked for a moment to go for a walk. Then when I came back I saw the snake creep into my car through the wheel. I was terrified but at least I wasn't inside the car at the time.''

The frantic woman called the animal rescuers immediately to help her find the serpent that had vanished inside her vehicle.

The rescue team, together with a reptile specialist, arrived at the scene to handle the venomous snake.

They both went to inspect the woman's golden Nissan to find where the reptile, a type of monocled cobra, was hiding.

After an intense 15 minutes of searching, they finally found the 3ft long snake hiding at the junction of the driver's side door.

One of the rescuers said that the woman was lucky to see the snake, or else it would have been dangerous because it hid near the driver's seat.

He said: "The snake is dangerous because it can spit out venom at long distances. She was right to call for help immediately."

The spitting cobra was taken by the rescuers and was later released to the wild.