A local rescue volunteer saved a rat snake stuck in a gutter pipe in Thailand.

Nattaphol went to a family’s house after the residents reported that a serpent had its tail caught in a hole on their roof drain in Chanthaburi province, Thailand on May 4.

He used a ladder to reach the snake that had almost half of its body trapped inside the hole.

In under five minutes, the kind rescuer was able to free the animal using his bare hands without special equipment.

Nattaphol said: ‘The snake might have been hunting birds and rats on the roof but had trouble while slithering down the pipe.

‘Please contact us and don’t try to handle reptiles on your own if you are not sure how. You could be hurt, and the animals too.’

Nattaphol took the snake with him to be released into the wild later.