A 10ft-long python hid under a fruit vendor's stall and ate her pet cat while she was selling food.

Ratri Thongtem, 60, was looking for her missing moggy around her fruit stand in Chonburi province, eastern Thailand on September 13 but it was nowhere to be found.

The cat usually waits for her during lunchtime so she was worried that it might have been lost that day.

The woman was shocked after she found a huge python with a bloated belly coiled under her stall instead of the cat.

She immediately called the emergency rescuers for help to catch the reptile, which was already full from devouring her cat.

Ratri said the python must have been targeting the baby monkeys wandering in the commercial district, but found her pet instead.

She said: "I was looking for my cat but I found the snake instead. I think the reptile had already eaten him. I hope that snakes will not kill any more animals around here.''

The rescue team spent almost two hours before they caught the fierce snake surrounded by frightened monkeys.

Samrit Rodsamang, a snake handler from Mueng Sansuk rescue unit, said: "We had to spend more than an hour before caught the huge snake. We want to warn people to check the narrow spaces under their shops from time to time as snakes are attracted to this area."

The are is a popular destination for watching and interacting with wild monkeys.

The python was carried in a sack before it was released back to the woods near the area.