A fierce jumbo cobra was caught hiding inside a car engine in Thailand.

The venomous 14ft-long serpent slithered under the van upon seeing driver Pongdate Aolueknoi, 50, outside a house in Krabi province on January 16.

Rescuers arrived at the scene to evacuate it but the defiant snake squeezed into a tight space in the wheel.

Volunteers had to remove the tire as the creature refused to come out. However, the creature slipped off the rescuer's hand and went inside the engine.

Footage shows the stubborn snake being lured out by rescuers. After an hour of operation, it was finally taken out of the vehicle.

Pongdate Aolueknoi, 50, said: ‘I saw the tail when I was getting in the car so I just ran away and shouted for help.'

The rescue team believed that the snake was frightened by workers harvesting oil palm and taken refuge in the parked car.

They took the 10kg snake back to their facility before it was released into the wild.