Snake wranglers had an epic struggle catching a 20ft long python living in wasteland in Thailand.

The team were called after a terrified security guard was sifting through the trash and the protective mother, which had been coiled round its eggs, reared up at him.

Still shaken by the incident, he said about a dozen stray dogs had gone missing in recent months before the snake was found.

The gigantic reptile is believed to have eaten them in Chachoengsao province, around 80km east of Bangkok.

Footage shows the rescue team battling with the angry serpent, which leapt up several times to try and bite them, while struggling to guard its eggs.

The security guard said: "There used to be many stray dogs in the area but they gradually disappeared. When I saw the snake in its nest I suddenly realised what had happened to them all.''

After half an hour of hard fought snake wrestling, the rescue team were finally able to carry the exhausted giant snake away and load it into an ambulance to be driven away and released deep in the jungle.