An extremely venomous banded sea krait emerged just inches from tourists while they swam in the sea.

Footage shows two holidaymakers frantically making their way up the bamboo ladder as the sea snake appeared in the underwater cave in Puerto Galera, the Philippines on May 29.

The deadly serpent then slithered on the rock formations before disappearing behind a tight crevice.

Shocked tourists had to move to another part of the summer destination to avoid the wild animal.

Tourist Annie Villame said: ‘It was my first time seeing such a creature. It was scary but mesmerizing at the same time. The snake's colour was beautiful.'

Banded sea kraits are one of the most lethal creatures in the oceans and have a venom that is ten times deadlier than a rattlesnake. Their venom could paralyze their prey within minutes which they use to hunt for eels hiding in coral reefs.