Officers wrangled a deadly 12-ft king cobra after terrified residents found it lying on a shoe rack in their home.

Wildlife rescuers arrived at the house in Krabi province after the 40-year-old housewife discovered that the venomous beast had slithered into one of the rooms on April 14.

They found the king cobra among pairs of shoes and caught it within five minutes using a snake pole - an easy task due to the snake's size.

Frightened residents and neighbours watched as the 13lb cobra was dragged outside, with the creature struggling in vain to break free.

It was placed in a sack before being returned to the wilderness.

The relieved resident said: 'I saw the cobra entering the house, but I was too afraid to drive it away. I had to call the rescue team for help.'

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 nest from potential intruders.