A cobra slid through the bars of a rat trap in eastern India recently, ate the rodent inside but was then too fat to exit the way it had entered.

Footage captured on June 25 showed the four-foot reptile stuck in the cage placed in a Pune shop.

Susant Behera from Snake Helpline came to the rescue and freed the venomous snake before placing it in a bag.

Behera release the cobra shortly afterwards in a natural habitat away from humans.

An Indian cobra slipped into a mousetrap kept by a shopkeeper in his storeroom and preyed on a rat, which was trapped inside.

After the meal the four-feet-long cobra’s abdomen bulged and it was unable to exit through the grills.

On June 25, the shopkeeper near Pune in eastern India saw the trapped snake inside his tiny cage and called Snake Helpline.

A volunteer, Susant Behera, took the mouse trap to an open area. The stressed cobra regurgitated the big rat it swallowed and made several attempts to escape through the wire grills of the trap. Susant freed the cobra and released it later in a natural habitat.

Subhendu Mallik, General Secretary of Snake Helpline, said: "People should never try to free snakes on their own. They should seek help from trained snake rescuers."