A coffee seller was shocked after she went to the toilet and found a 13ft long python curled up at her feet.

Butsaba Turata, 20, popped to the outdoor loo next to a market in Chonburi, Thailand, on November 23 at 10am. She had just mounted the squat style loo when she glanced down and saw the reptile staring back up at her.

The young woman barely had time to pull up her trousers when she ran out screaming before calling the emergency services. They arrived a short time later and dragged out the python - which was resting after eating a chicken from a nearby farm.

Butsaba said: ''The snake gave me the shock of my life. I saw it and ran out as fast as I could. I think my trousers were still around my knees when I jumped out of the door.''

Professional animal handlers from the Radio Fire Rescue Center in the Sriracha district arrived and caught the snake. They said it was four metres (13ft) long.

The python was put in a bag and driven away in a truck in order to be released back into the wild.