Brave Buddhist monks caught a massive python with their bare hands when it slithered into their temple in Thailand.

One of the monks had been walking to the toilet of the Wat Nam Krachai temple when he spotted the 10ft beast swallowing a cat in Songkhla province on November 14.

He ran to inform temple abbot Chawaroj Chotithammo, who gathered several other people to catch the humongous reptile.

Footage shows the robed men surrounding the python as it coiled in a corner of a room and snapped at them. Despite the reptile's aggression, they grabbed it with bare hands and carried it out of the building.

One of the monks said the python had previously killed and devoured several stray cats at the temple a few days earlier.

The abbot Chawaroj said: 'The snake entered from the nearby canal behind the monks' houses. There are many wild animals living in that area. I decided to catch the snake myself because it might escape if the rescue team arrived too late.'

The python has been handed over to village officials, who released it into its natural habitat.

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.