This is the terrifying moment a live cobra dropped from the ceiling onto a teenager's shoulder.

The youngster, 15, was lying on a sofa playing with her phone when the serpent emerged from a small gap in the corner of the room in Nonthaburi, Thailand.

CCTV footage shows how the deadly snake dangled above the girl's head before flopping onto the couch, sending her running away in panic on June 16.

The girl's mum Namkang Tantisiriwat, 46, rushed over when she heard screams and found the small snake slithering menacingly on the furniture. She called reptile catchers for help as the creature was fierce and spat at them when they approached.

The rescue team, upon seeing the snake, identified it as a cobra. They pinned it down with a snake pole, but the cobra was fierce and snapped at them before they finally sealed it inside a plastic jug.

Seeing the cobra's aggression, a shocked Namkang said: 'I'm the one who usually sits on the sofa, but on that day, it was my daughter who was there. I didn't believe her at first, but then I saw the cobra slithering there on the couch.

'It was a miracle she was bitten. The cobra was very hostile towards the animal rescuers.'

The protective mum said she has filled in the ceiling gap and plans to hire a technician to find other holes where snakes could sneak into their home.

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.