A father leaped up in fright when a snake emerged next to him while he was watching TV,

CCTV footage shows Chitsanu, 57, focused on the evening news as the serpent slithered about five inches away from him in Rayong province, Thailand on May 14.

But when he scrolled on his phone, he seemed to have caught a glimpse of the menacing creature. The father sprung up to his feet and alerted the grandmother Cheeva about the snake that had retreated under the TV console.

His daughter Grace said: 'It was the first time that a snake was found inside our house. We were really scared.'

Chitsanu called the animal rescuers for help and the creature was evacuated from their home.

No one was hurt in the incident including the serpent, which was believed to be a non-venomous rat snake, that was later released into the wild.