Horrified villagers in central India's Korba had to call in specialist snake rescuers after a 13-foot-long king cobra fought with a mob of mongooses.

Footage from September 8 shows professional reptile rescuer Avinash Yadav and colleagues retrieve the beast after it sought refuge in a tree.

The team rushed to the location as it was feared locals would have stoned the snake.

The snake was rescued and released back safely into the wild.