This brave grandfather caught a massive python hanging from the rafters of his house after the serpent had devoured three of his cats in Thailand.

The pensioner, 71, found the sated snake coiled in a corner of his home in Uthai Thani province on August 31.

Since the local rescue service was busy with a separate emergency at the time, he decided to tackle the giant reptile himself, using a snake-catching pole to grab hold of the creature's head while waiting for volunteers to arrive.

Video shows the python with its neck snared inside the noose as specialists dragged it down from its nook. They then carried it to take measurements.

The snake reportedly weighed a staggering 40 kilograms (roughly 88 pounds) and was 17ft long. It was taken to the Tham Prathun Conservation Team office to later be released into nature.

Somporn Stitnoi, the pensioner's wife who discovered the snake slithering inside their property, said she was astonished and terrified by its sheer size.

She said: 'This is not the first snake caught in the house, but this one is much bigger than the previous one and it has already consumed three of our cats.

'Since the rescue service was unavailable, grandpa chose to undertake the job himself, calling back knowledge after witnessing the rescue service do it many times.'

The reticulated python is found throughout Southeast Asia, where they live in forests, swamps, canals and even in cities, causing them to come into conflict with humans. The species is one of the world's largest snakes and can eat humans, cats, dogs, birds, rats and other snakes.