A terrified young housewife hid inside a water pipe for FOUR days without food or water to escape her violent husband.

Narumon Khotpim, 21, was last seen collecting firewood with her spouse Wittaya Kamsuret, 36, at a forest in Roi Et province, northeast Thailand on November 8.

Despite the important Buddhist celebration Loy Krathong, Narumon failed to return home that night so her family members thought she was missing.

A search and rescue was launched for the young wife but officers were baffled when they found her starving inside a dirty pipe refusing to come out.

Footage shows rescuers pulling the exhausted woman out of the hole. She hadn't eaten in four days and was assisted towards an ambulance as she could barely walk.

Village policeman Noi Sudsakorn said: ‘We mobilised a group to help find the woman. We had a lot of volunteers who searched around the area where she was last seen.

‘We found her inside one of the drainage pipes hiding when one of the volunteers noticed footprints on the puddle leading to the sewers.'

During an interview with local authorities, husband Wittaya said he was walking home, and his wife was following behind but she was slow.

He said: ‘We were collecting firewood in a forest about 1km away from the village. I took home the firewood because she walked slowly. When she hadn't shown up at home, I came back for her but I couldn't find her.'

The person who found her Santi Srikon said he followed the footprints and led him in one of the pipes.

He said: ‘The pipe's hole was too small. I didn't expect to find her there. She was not talking or shouting for help.'

Th wife was taken to Phochai Hospital for treatment. Police officers said they would interview her once she regained strength as she was too disoriented when found.

Meanwhile, the woman's father-in-law Boonthawee Laosongkram, 63, said his son and Narumon quarreled before she went missing.

He said: ‘They were not separated. They lived with me. They quarreled that day. It was most likely that she wanted to leave because my son accidentally hit her with wood in the head.

‘He hadn't apologised yet, so she left. So things became like this.'