A hero husband wrestled with a huge python that he caught trying to eat his pet cat.

The shocked resident heard the moggy screaming for help and ran into the garden in Bangkok, Thailand, in the early hours of the morning on November 14.

He checked outside before spotting the 16ft-long reptile raiding the cage as the cat desperately tried to evade the serpent's killer jaws by leaping up in the corner of the enclosure.

CCTV footage shows the brave local grabbing the reptile by its tail before an epic struggle ensued. He clamped the snake's mouth shut with his bare hands as an elderly relative came to help and turned on the light.

Together, the man and his mother tugged the snake out of the corner of the cage where it was coiled around a bar, waking up the neighbours as their pet dogs began barking and surrounding them to help.

In around two minutes, he was able to extract the snake before he calmly carried it away from their home and dumped in nearby bushes.

Wildlife rescue teams were alerted to the presence of the giant python and they arrived later that morning to try and track it down.

The man said it was his 'worst nightmare' that a snake could attack the family's beloved pet cat.

He added: 'I instinctively fought with the python to stop it from eating my pet. I'm concerned the python could return, so I'm keeping a close watch every night.'

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.