A gecko locked its jaws around a snake’s body in a Mexican standoff – refusing to let go until rescuers poured tobacco water on it.

Footage shows the gecko’s mouth clenched around the golden tree snake, which fought back by trying to suffocate the lizard as they tussled in Saraburi province on March 11.

With the snake and lizard both unable to escape, they were stuck in a typical Mexican standoff with no party able to inflict the killer blow needed to claim victory.

Onlooker Kantimon Pengwarin, 48, a spa owner, found the wild animals fighting outside her shop. She immediately called the animal rescuers to separate the reptiles from each other and release them away from the property.

However, when the rescuers arrived, they tried to remove the gecko’s bite but it was too strong and the defiant reptile would not let go.

They first tried to pour lime juice on its head to irritate it and eventually watered it down with a hose when it didn’t budge.

The gecko stayed kept its bite until the rescuers used tobacco water, which was used as a natural pesticide in domestic gardening.

The reptile scampered away after only 30 seconds of being washed with the substance and the snake was free from its jaws.

The grateful shop owner Kantimon said: ‘I felt sorry for them but they are both safe now, so all is well. The rescuers did a great job keeping them both alive.’

The snake was released into the wild while the gecko escaped into the bushes and ran away from the property after its brush with the snake.