A python sparked panic after it was found hiding under a fishing boat in Thailand.

The 3ft-long snake was discovered inside the boat compartment while fishermen were preparing to sail in Trat province.

A rescue team was called on the scene to remove the snake as it was tucked away hidden on the deeper part of the compartment.

When the volunteers arrived, they searched for the reptile and found it hiding behind containers of gasoline near the boat engine.

Fishermen Nop Saelim aid: ‘We did not know how the snake could have sneaked inside the boat. Before we were about to leave, the boat had just docked on the pier from catching shrimp.

‘This means that snake was already with the previous crew and eating the shrimp under the compartment without them knowing.’

Team members pulled the snake out of the boat and placed it inside a sack to be released in the wild. The crew thanked the volunteers for helping them rescue the animal.

No one was reported hurt in the incident as well as the snake that appeared to have been bloated from eating the fishermen’s catch on the boat.