A python was caught in a sewer pipe after it tried to kill farmyard chickens in Thailand.

The 10ft-long snake was trying to squeeze inside the birds’ enclosure when the farm owner found it in Nakhon Ratchasima province on June 12.

The reptile immediately escaped upon seeing the woman and slithered into the drain to hide before the farmer called the rescuers for help.

When the team arrived, they pulled out the concrete cylinder pipes to search for the snake. They found the python inside where it appeared to have nested with its 20 eggs.

Farmer Panya Wongsa said: ‘I heard the chickens crying in the coop. I rushed to check on the animals and found the snake. When the python noticed me it then escaped back to the pipe.

‘My chickens could have been eaten by the hungry snake if I did not come on time. I was relieved that the snake and its eggs were removed.’

The team captured the snake using a pole with a hook while its eggs covered in wet dirt were removed from the pipe. The snake and the eggs were taken to the wildlife centre for rehabilitation.