A wildlife official was lowered to the bottom of a well in Maharashtra, western India, to rescue a snake that was trapped.

The courageous rescuer was lowered into the 60-feet-deep well where he managed to pry the rat snake from out from some bricks.

Once he grabbed hold of the reptile, the official was then hauled back up to the surface in Ahmednagar.

Akash Jadhav of Animal Rescue Society said: "Time was running out for the unusually long snake. It had spent a long time inside the well and had even shed its skin there. It would have become very weak without food if we had not rescued it on time.”

The rat snake was later released into a nearby forest.

This footage was filmed on June 7.

This was the moment a courageous rescuer took his chances and put a hand under water to catch a snake hiding in the crack of a well.

He managed to rescue the rat snake and climb up the 60-feet well with the eight-feet-long reptile dangling from one hand.

A farmer spotted a snake inside his irrigation well in Ahmednagar district of western India on on June 7 and called Animal Rescue Society. Akash Jadhav went to the village with his team to save the snake that had been seen swimming in the water.

A team member went down the well with the help of a harness. What looked like a routine rescue took a difficult turn as the snake ducked and took refuge in a crack under water.

The rescuer tried to prod the snake using his snake stick and legs but could not reach it. He decided to put his hand inside the crack and pry out the snake, which he then brought to the surface.

Though rat snakes are non-venomous they can deliver a nasty bite when they are cornered.

Akash said: “Time was running out for the unusually long snake. It had spent a long time inside the well and had even shed its skin there. It would have become very weak without food if we had not rescued it on time.”

The snake was released in a nearby forest later.