A huge 14ft long king cobra was caught behind a pile of zinc tiles in a home in Thailand.

The massive reptile slithered into the house in Chonburi province on March 12, terrifying the homeowner due to its sheer size.

The resident called a rescue team, which rushed to the scene at around 11 PM.

They found the gigantic animal rearing its head behind zinc tiles in the garden.

The volunteers spread out to surround the snake, and used flashlights to distract it before catching it with a snake noose.

They then dragged it outside where there was more space and took its measurements. The cobra, believed to be female because of its larger head, measured a whopping 14.2 feet and weighed 18 kilograms. It was sealed inside a sack.

Rescue team chief Paisal Pornnimitsap, 39, said he had caught another king cobra of a similar size on February 28 around three kilometres from the house.

That cobra's length was 13.8 feet and its weight was 14 kilos. He believed the two were mates that had been separated.

The king cobra is the world's longest venomous snake and is endemic to Asia. It has a wide distribution across South and Southeast Asia.

King cobras are generally not aggressive, and will usually avoid humans. However, it will fiercely defend its eggs from potential intruders.

Researchers found that 7,000 people are treated for snake bites each year in Thailand. Suchai Suteparuk from the Division of Toxicology at Chulalongkorn University reported that 30 of those die, with cobras being the biggest killer.