A deadly king cobra spotted hiding inside a toolbox in a garage was rescued.

The 6.5ft-long snake sheltered inside the Bosch box and was discovered by car owner Somsak Chaemchan, 64, while he was fixing his sedan in Saraburi province, Thailand, on June 2.

Footage shows the serpent threatening an animal rescue volunteer while nestled over tools as the man was trying to hook it with a rod.

The cobra was lured inside an empty water container with holes, but it resisted and slithered out. In the second attempt, the rescuer closed the box and cornered it on the wall before letting it glide into the container.

Somsak said: ‘I was repairing my car, but I didn't know a snake was coiled inside.

‘I already took two tools inside before I finally noticed the cobra on the third time I opened the box to use a towel to clean them.'

The superstitious old house owner added: ‘I wasn't wearing Buddha amulet or any sacred item but I did not want to hurt it so I was in turn spared from harm.'

The cobra was evacuated from the property and released back into the wild.

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.