A bus driver found a python clinging to the engine and drove around with it - hoping the serpent would leave on its own.

However, the 7ft-long python was still inside when he arrived at his destination 10 miles away in Chonburi province, eastern Thailand on November 20 morning.

Upon reaching the pick-up spot, he checked under the bus to make sure and finally called the animal rescuers.

The python had survived the bumpy journey and was coiled up, holding on for its life.

He said: ''I never thought the snake would make it through the way from the garage to the pickup spot.

''I thought it would fall along the way but after finding out that it was still there I decided to let the rescue team handle it.''

The rescue team pulled the serpent by its tail and dragged it out from under the bus easily as it did not resist.

One of the rescuers said the snake may have been tired from clinging upside down the engine for a while so it was not aggressive when caught.

The snake was put inside a sack before the rescue team drove away with it to be released into the wild.