A pet duck saved a family from a cobra that slithered into their home - by eating the snake.

The four-month-old native variety battled with the reptile when it saw it slithering through the living room of the house in Davao del Norte, the Philippines on September 4.

It pecked the snake, a Samar spitting cobra, the swallowed it head first before it was found by its owners, with a tail poking out of its mouth.

Footage shows the duck being checked by residents as the rear end of the snake dangled from the side of its beak.

Pet owner Analyn Aragon said: ‘We knew it was a cobra, so we removed it from the duck. We were worried it could hurt the bird if we did not take it out.'

The 1ft (0.30 meter) serpent was extracted from the duck's mouth. The snake was already dead, but miraculously, the bird was unhurt.

Analyn added: ‘It saved our lives. The snake could have hurt my family.'

The Samar Spitting Cobra can kill humans with its venom.

Babies and juvenile snakes - like the creature seen in the video - are often more dangerous than adults as they have not yet learned how to regulate the amount of venom released in bites or to use 'dry bites' as a defence mechanism.

The species of snake is found mainly in the Philippines, particularly on the islands of Samar, Leyte, and Mindanao. It is usually black or dark brown with a lighter underbelly.