This is the scary moment a large king cobra was caught curled up inside a car engine.

The deadly 8ft-long reptile was spotted hiding under the old green Toyota parked beside houses in Chanthaburi province, Thailand on January 16.

Shocked residents called the local animal rescue team for help catching the aggressive reptile as it tried lunging at them. Thhey watched from a distance as they believed that the animal encounter during the holiday was a sign of luck.

When the rescuers arrived, they found the snake hiding inside the engine and one of the team members pulled it by the tail away from the vehicle and into the dirt.

Neighbour Lek Srichai said: ‘I asked to touch the snake and used the sedan’s plate number for my lottery ticket. I know this was a lucky day and no one was hurt.’

The snake was finally caught and placed inside a plastic container before the team left with it for release in the wild later.