A 10ft-long python sparked panic after it emerged on a flooded road after heavy rain in the Philippines.

Terrified shoppers fled after seeing the huge reptile drifting in floodwaters in front of shops in Pagadian City in Zamboanga del Sur province on October 14.

The wild animal had been flushed out of the drain system after the pipes were filled with gushing torrents of rainwater from a tropical storm.

Two brave men volunteered to catch the deadly snake by pulling it by the tail when it tried to escape along the soaked surface.

Onlookers used a large plastic bag from a nearby rubbish bin and a long piece of wood to try and catch the serpent but it became aggressive.

Onlooker Rochel Sebag Abdaon Guadalquiver said no one was hurt and the two men eventually captured the reptile.

She said: "We were eating in a nearby canteen when we heard people shouting outside. We saw there was a massive snake and people were running away from it."

The snake was eventually caught and taken to the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources for proper handling and release later.