A venomous snake was found hiding in a pair of trainers at a home in east India.

A resident of Bhubaneswar, Odisha, spotted a cobra entering his house on March 12. The young snake slithered in and vanished near the shoe rack.

He called Snake Helpline for rescue and a volunteer, Arun Kumar Baral, went to rescue the snake. Suspecting that the snake had taken refuge in the shoes, which had been had been neatly packed in boxes, Arun took each of them out carefully.

One of the shoes felt a little heavy and he found a deadly spectacled cobra curled up inside. The snake had slipped in through a small hole in the box.

He slowly teased the cobra out with a snake hook and caught it. It was later released in a natural habitat.

Subhendu Mallik, General Secretary of Snake Helpline, said: "With the end of winter snakes have come out of their hibernation. They are entering homes looking for of their prey like rats and frogs. As shoes make an ideal hiding place for them, people should be alert while putting them on.”

A resident of Bhubaneswar in eastern India spotted a cobra entering his house on March 12. The young snake slithered in and vanished near the shoe rack.

He called Snake Helpline for rescue and a volunteer, Arun Kumar Baral, went to rescue the snake. Suspecting that the snake had taken refuge in the shoes, whiuch had been had been neatly packed in boxes, Arun took each of them out carefully. One of the shoes felt a little heavy and he found a deadly spectacled cobra curled up inside. The snake had slipped in through a small hole in the box.

He slowly teased the cobra out with a snake hook and caught it. It was later released in a natural habitat.

Subhendu Mallik, General Secretary of Snake Helpline, said: "With the end of winter snakes have come out of their hibernation. They are entering homes looking for of their prey like rats and frogs. As shoes make an ideal hiding place for them, people should be alert while putting them on.”