A king cobra caused a panic after slithering into an office while the staff were working on the night shift.

The employees were preparing to leave in the early hours of the morning when the 13ft long reptile appeared in the room in Chiang Rai, northern Thailand on August 5.

Animal catchers received an emergency call and rushed to the building as the staff fled from the deadly reptile - which can kill with a single bite.

The snake was lured into the open with a flashlight while one of the rescuers waited for it to go near the catching rod.

However, the fiery snake was trying to escape by darting through a door in the office building.

One of the rescuers said: "The snake was quite big, I think it might be a wild animal that wandered into the city."

The serpent was caught after a 30 minute struggle and put inside a sack to be released in the jungle later.