A young soldier was shocked after finding a newborn cobra hissing at him when he opened the washing machine.

Mankhong Chaisong, 23, was about to do his laundry when he found the baby reptile in the machine next to his home in Udon Thani, northeastern Thailand on October 13.

The private noticed the 30cm long cobra - which still has a deadly bite - after removing the lid of the washer. The tiny snake let out a small hiss to defend itself from the human.

Mankhong said: "I was taking the clothes into the machine when I saw the dangerous snake. I called for help because it would be a risk to grab it by myself."

The man immediately closed the washer leaving the cobra inside before calling the animal rescuers, as it was still venomous despite its small size.

The professional reptile handlers spent around five minutes before capturing the juvenile cobra.

One of the rescuers said that cobras are extremely venomous and can kill humans even when they are still babies. They believe it had slithered away from its nest and taken refuge inside the washing machine to escape from the rain.

He said: "The resident did right by calling us because it would be too dangerous to capture it himself. The venom could kill him within an hour if he was bitten."

Rescuers placed the baby cobra inside a plastic water bottle to take with them and release it later into the wild.