Mechanics were shocked when they found a python lurking in a customer's car engine in Thailand.

Worker Worawit had lifted the vehicle's bonnet for inspection, only to find the serpent staring back at him at the auto shop in Chonburi province on July 12.

Staff called snake catchers, who arrived to pull the python out of the machinery.

Worawit said: 'At first, I couldn't see the snake, but when I checked the car's air filter, we saw its head poking out. We tried to catch it ourselves, but it slithered further inside the engine, so we had to call animal rescuers for assistance.'

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.