A skilful rescuer caught a deadly 10ft-long king cobra using his bare hands.

Snake catcher Chakrayuth Wapha, 28, rushed to a resident's home after the venomous reptiles was seen slithering along the beams of the structure in Krabi province on January 18. It is believed to have entered the property to find water as it was thirsty from moulting during the current hot, dry spell.

Footage shows the rescue team member using a ladder to reach the animal from the ceiling where it had been hiding and bravely grabbing it with his bare hands.

Chakrayuth said: 'There was a huge water jar outside the house and it was looking for a shelter as it had just moulted. We think it was hungry and thirsty.'

The snake kept evading the rescue team by slithering into different parts of the house so they first used a hook to try and pull it to the ground but to no avail.

After 20 minutes, it was finally cornered and caught before being secured inside a sack.

Relieved house owners thanked the rescue team who took the animal with them for releasing back into the wild.

House owner Jatuphon Aram, 62, said: 'We have seen snakes here but this time it was a venomous cobra so we could not deal with it ourselves. Also, it was too long.'