A terrified family found a snake coiled around the stair railings of their home in Thailand.

Resident Kiatkawee Maksomboon was returning home from work when she found the reptile wrapped around the newel of their staircase in Phetchabun province on May 8.

CCTV footage shows the snake slithering across the steps and winding up the balustrade several minutes before Charoen arrived home.

The woman initially failed to see the coiled serpent due to the dim lights, but spotted it as she was going back downstairs.

She said: 'I didn't notice the snake when I was walking up the stairs at first. It was only later at around 8 pm that I finally saw it.

'I was lucky I was holding the handrails on the opposite side. I called my father and husband to catch the snake.'

The snake in the home was a golden tree snake. They have a distinctive green appearance that helps them to blend in with leaves and pounce on prey.

They are relatively harmless to humans but can be easily confused with a green pit viper, which carries a fatal bite.