A wild snake sparked panic after slithering into a hospital examination room.

The little reptile appeared in an examination room next to the waiting area at the building in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand on Thursday evening (September 26).

Several patients fled as the 3ft long rat snake darted across the tiles. Terrified nurses looked on while emergency services arrived and caught the snake hiding under a medicine cupboard.

One firefighter, Tan Preecha, said that the 3ft-long snake was a fierce creature despite being the non-venomous.

He added: "This is the not a poisonous snake but it can attack humans. They will attack if they are threatened.

"Luckily, it came in the night when there weren't as many people around or it could have been much worse if there were lots of patients.''

The snake was put in the sack and released back in the wood away from the building.

A wild snake sparked panic after slithering into a hospital examination room.

The little reptile appeared in an examination in the room next to the waiting area at the building in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand on Thursday (26/09) night.

Several patients fled as the 3ft long rat snake darted across the tiles. Terrified nurses looked on while the emergency services arrived and caught the snake hiding under a medicine cupboard.

One firefighter, Tan Preecha, said that the 3ft-long snake was a fierce creature despite being the non-venomous.

He added: "This is the not a poisonous snake but it can attack humans. They will attack if they are threatened.

"Luckily, it came in the night when there weren't as many people around or it could have been much worse if there were lots of patients.''

The snake was put in the sack and released back in the wood away from the building.