A greedy python was found in a pensioner's ceiling after eating his three pet cats in Thailand.

The 10ft-long killer snake slithered inside the property and preyed on the old man's adopted felines in Uthai Thani province.

It had eaten three cats so far before resident Songkhram Sathitnoi, 71, caught it crawling out of the ceiling above the man's Buddha altar to eat his last remaining pet on June 20.

The scared old man ran outside the house and called the animal rescuer service for help catching the serpent with a big appetite.

Pet owner Songkhram said: ‘I adopt a lot of cats and dogs but lately I noticed that my kitties have been disappearing.

‘I thought they were just adjusting to their new home and would return later, but this snake might have eaten three of my cats.

‘I saw this python before in the forest near my home but I let it move on. I didn't know that it was preying on my pets.'

The rescuers used long catching poles to reach the snake while it tried to escape. Some parts of the ceiling were broken while the team went after the snake.

Eventually, it went out of the ceiling and tried to escape into the garden but it was caught by one of the volunteers.

The snake weighing 70kg was taken by the rescuers with them to be released in the wild.

Thailand is home to three species of python, one of which is the reticulated python considered to be the longest snake in the world. In 2021, a farmer in Chon Buri province came across a massive 20ft-long python that required eight rescuers to pull from the fields.