A python was found with a swollen belly coiled up on the roof of a chicken coup - before regurgitating a dead rooster.

The greedy python raided the wooden shack sparking a frenzy as the fowl tried to escape from the reptile in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, on October 22.

Terrified villagers called the emergency services, who sent wild land handlers with poles to catch the killer serpent.

They found an 8ft long python with a bulging stomach on the wooden rafters of the chicken coop.

Footage shows how the grappled with the snake before dragging it into the grass where it regurgitating the rooster to loosen its load and make an escape.

However, it was caught and stuffed into a sack to be released into the wild. The bird was buried in the back garden.

Pne of the python catchers said: 'It was the snake's survival instinct to spit out their victim. If they keep it inside, their body will be heavier, which will obstruct them from escaping from the hunters or danger.'

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.