A 16ft-long python was caught despite finding an unusual hiding place - inside an old car tyre.

The snake sparked panic after it was seen coiled inside the rubber wheel outside a restaurant in Pattaya, Thailand, last Thursday.

The owner called police who sent rescuers to snare the serpent which put up a fight as it tried to stay inside its new home.

But it was eventually yanked out and stuffed into a sack before being released and filmed as it happily slithered back into the wilderness.

Suppachai Wanitpong, who is seen in the footage handling the python, said: ‘’It needed a lot of strength and power to get the snake out. It was an awkward hiding place inside the tyre.

‘’The snake had to be pulled out gently. It was probably looking for somewhere warm and dry as the winter comes.’’

A 16ft-long python was caught despite finding an unusual hiding place - inside an old car tyre.

The snake sparked panic after it was seen coiled inside the rubber wheel outside a restaurant in Pattaya, Thailand, last Thursday.

The owner called police who sent rescuers to snare the serpent which put up a fight as it tried to stay inside its new home.

But it was eventually yanked out and stuffed into a sack before being released and filmed as it happily slithered back into the wilderness.

Suppachai Wanitpong, who is seen in the footage handling the python, said: ‘’It needed a lot of strength and power to get the snake out. It was an awkward hiding place inside the tyre.

‘’The snake had to be pulled out gently. It was probably looking for somewhere warm and dry as the winter comes.’’