Volunteers removed a sinister cobra lurking in a pensioner's home in Thailand.

The venomous snake reportedly slithered past an elderly woman's feet while she was taking an afternoon nap in Uthai Thani province on October 13.

The woman's grandson Fluke, 16, said he carried the frail old woman as he ran out of their house to call his neighbour, local snake wrangler Chart, 47.

Footage shows Chart using a catch pole to drag the writhing cobra from under a wooden table. It unfurled its hood and bared its fangs as Chart bagged it inside a sack.

He said: 'I am a volunteer in the village and I have experience catching snakes. If any villagers are in trouble and find a snake in their house, they can notify me at any time. I will go and catch it for them.'

The king cobra is a venomous snake native to Asia. It can be found across the Indian subcontinent and throughout Southeast Asia and southern China.

It is classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List and is listed under Appendix II of CITES, limiting its trade.

The king cobra is listed as a protected animal under Thailand's Wildlife Conservation and Protection Act.