A deadly cobra was found hiding in a pickup truck’s engine in Thailand.

The 3.2ft-long venomous sake emerged beside the car battery when the vehicle’s hood was lifted at a garage in Udon Thani province on September 14.

The shocked mechanic hit the car’s body with a stick to scare the reptile away but the snake would not leave so he notified the rescue team for help.

Upon arrival, the team members used a flashlight to search for the cobra and found it tucked under the battery case, hiding from them.

Frightened mechanic Shonwee Garudanok, 42, said: ‘The snake even tried to bite me. I thought I could scare the snake out but when I saw it was a cobra I called the rescue team.’

To lure the serpent out, rescuers sprayed insecticides inside the engine before one of them climbed on top of the vehicle and pulled the snake out on its head.

It was eventually taken out of the vehicle before being secured inside a sack and later freed back to the wild. No one was also reported hurt including the snake.

Car owner Pornchai Muksikbunleud, 35, said: ‘I went to work as usual today and parked my car near trees. After clocking out at work I went to a garage for maintenance but then we found the snake.’