Two huge pythons emerged from mating together in a bush - straight onto a road in front of terrified drivers.

The serpents had been wrapped around each other in the undergrowth alongside the dark road in Ayutthaya province, Thailand, in the early hours of Sunday morning.

They slithered out onto the narrow pathway for a sluggish post-coital stroll together under the moon but were caught in the headlights of an oncoming car.

Driver Akkarawin Phromsin walked from his vehicle to spray water at the hapless reptilian lovers. The female turned away and disappeared into the wilderness but the exhausted male struggled to move. He eventually wriggled away to skulk in the long grass and replenish his energy until morning.

Akkarawin said: 'The two pythons were blocking the cars. They were not afraid of humans and were moving so slowly. They had no energy but they could have been dangerous, so we shooed them away.'

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.