A young mother breastfeeding her child was shocked when a 10-foot-long cobra slithered into her living room.

Suwanan Phanking, 20, was holding her two-month-old baby girl when started to doze off - and the snake began its approach.

The mother was disturbed by the deadly cobra when it entered through a window of the home in Prachinburi, central Thailand on September 12.

Terrified Suwanan ran out of the house and screamed for help from neighbours before they called the animal rescue unit.

The aggressive cobra, a distinctive dark black colour with a flared hood, first tried to bite the rescuers then attempted to escape.

However, the skilful snake catchers were able to subdue the serpent and garb it by the neck after almost an hour of cautiously following it round the room.

Sommai Jeep, one of the rescuers, said: "The mother was lucky that she did not fall asleep with the cobra inside the house. It could have bitten her or the baby because it was looking for food."

No one was harmed by the cobra, which was released into the woods by the animal catchers.

Cobras can be found in woodland across Thailand but they often venture into homes in search of food or water. They cause thousands of deaths each year in Southeast Asia.