A toddler survived after being bitten by a king cobra while he was playing outside his family's home in Thailand.

Two-year-old Sunsun Kangsadal was picking up soil while his family ate dinner at home in Buriram province but he suddenly started crying on February 10 evening.

His father Kangsadal, 45, rushed to the boy and found two swollen dots on his wrist before spotting the deadly snake hiding under a pot.

The angry father then killed the snake, quickly placed it inside a bag, and rushed the boy to Nonedindaeng Hospital where he was given treatment.

Father Kagsadal said: 'This was my boy's first time playing with the basin and the mud, so he was excited. We let him enjoy it until while we ate dinner but around 7 pm we heard him scream.

'He kept saying his wrist hurt so I thought a bug bit him but then I found the two dots. I knew it was a snake so I searched and found it under a pot.'

The boy's wrist was tied with a cloth to slow down the flow of venom in the blood while he was being rushed to a hospital. Medics were successful in treating the bite with anti-venom and was admitted for a day for observation.

He was discharged the next day but the cobra bite had left a black scar that will take a few weeks to fade away, according to his doctor.

Thailand has an abundance of venomous snakes. Among these are three species of common cobra, another three species of kraits, and the deadly king cobra which has a potent neurotoxic venom that could kill up to 20 adults or even an elephant in a single bite.