Rescuers pulled an all-nighter extracting a large python hiding in a driver's car engine.

Footage shows the volunteers starting the operation when it was still dark, taking turns to lure the 12ft-long serpent from between the sedan's gears until they finally dragged it out from under the front wheel when the sun was already rising in Pattaya City, Thailand, on March 14.

The snake was taken to the local fire station to be checked by vets before being released back into the wild.

The reticulated python is found throughout Southeast Asia, where they live in forests, swamps, canals and even in cities, causing them to come into conflict with humans. The species is one of the world's largest snakes and can eat humans, cats, dogs, birds, rats and other snakes.