A massive 12ft python was found lurking in an underground pipe at a durian orchard in Thailand.

The beast was found by the orchard caretaker who spotted it slithering inside the pipe at the farm in Nakhon Ratchasima province.

Fearing the snake would emerge inside a resident's house, he called snake catchers for help.

The team arrived at the farm and found the hulking python lodged inside the pipe. They dug up the soil around the pipe, and carefully pulled the reptile by its tail out of the opening.

The volunteers said the snake was around 12 feet long and weighed a whopping 55 lbs.

They placed it in a sack to be released into the wilderness.

The caretaker, who declined to be named, said the python had likely slid inside the pipe in search of food.

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.