An animal rescuer found a snake hiding underneath a resident's mattress in eastern India's Cuttack.

Sarat Panda called Snake Helpline after he spotted a snake in his house on August 25.

Snake Helpline employees Lalit Mohan Panda and Durga Madhav Mohapatra searched Sarat Panda's house but could not locate the snake.

After sitting on a mattress they saw a quick movement and immediately lifted it to find the 5-foot-long Indian cobra.

Lalit Panda said: "As I sat down to turn on the TV, the snake was right by my side. I was stunned and started shivering in fear."

"It was a lucky escape for both Lalit and the family. Due to heavy rains snakes are trying to find refuge inside houses,” said Subhendu Mallik, General Secretary of Snake Helpline.

The snake was later released in a natural habitat far from the village.

Sarat Panda of Banki, a resident of Harirajpur village near Cuttack in eastern India, spotted a snake on August 25 evening.

He called Snake Helpline, whose members Lalit Mohan Panda and Durga Madhav Mohapatra, went to the house despite heavy rains sensing the dangerous situation.

They searched his bed room and the house, but did not find the snake though they could hear the snake's hissing occasionally.

Lalit thought that the snake was hiding inside an old TV set and brought it down from a shelf. He sat on the cot and tried to open the TV set.

Durga saw some movement under a mattress and quickly alerted Lalit, who immediately sprung up from the cot. As Lalit carefully lifted the mattress with the help of a snake hook, a 5-feet long male Indian cobra revealed itself.

" As I sat down to open the TV, the snake was right by my side. I was stunned and started shivering in fear," Lalit said.

"It was a lucky escape for both Lalit and the family. Due to heavy rains snakes are trying to find refuge inside houses” said Subhendu Mallik, General Secretary of Snake Helpline.

The snake was later released in a natural habitat far from the village.