A pensioner was terrified when she found a deadly king cobra slithering past her feet inside her car.

Noi Tola, 66, and her husband Prayong Tola, 67, had picked up their daughter and grandchild from an airport in Udon Thani, northeast Thailand, and were driving back home on October 20.

However, while resting in the back seat during the ride, Noi felt something brush up against her feet. When she looked down, she was horrified to see a 6ft king cobra writhing on the car's floor mats.

The shocked family pulled over at a fuel station where they called the emergency services for help.

The snake catchers sprayed insect repellent inside the black Mitsubishi Mirage and spotted the cobra slipping inside a child safety seat. They sprayed the baby seat with more chemicals, driving the serpent out of its hiding spot and allowing them to catch it.

The cobra was placed inside a sack to be released into nature.

The driver, Prayong, said: 'I don't know how the snake entered the car. It must have slipped inside somehow when I opened the car door. Luckily, none of us were bitten.'

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.