Shocked tourists stood around the pool in horror as snake handlers grappled with a gargantuan python that was caught inside an apartment wall.

The 20ft (6m) serpent was first discovered by a terrified maid who saw its tail poking out of a small hole and called the firefighters for help in Chonburi, Thailand, on January 23.

Footage shows team members inside the bathroom, looking for the spot where the reptile was hiding.

They then smashed a portion of a tile-covered concrete wall to make the hole large enough to drag the massive snake out.

At least three volunteers pulled the snake out with a body thicker than the men's thighs.

While two of them pinched the head of the python with a catching pole, three others dragged it out until they could take it by the pool area.

The massive snake tried to resist, coiling around the mtal catching poles but was eventually placed in a big sack.

One of the fire volunteers said: 'A housekeeper at the condominium called us for help. The end of its tail was already poking out but they could not capture it.

'It is a female weighing 9st (60kg). It could have slithered there to find a safe nesting spot. But it's fortunate that we caught it, because a lot of tourists stay in this building. The snake would have ruined their holiday.'

The team spent 30 minutes breaking through the wall. They then dragged the snake out into the open and stuffed it into a sack next to the swimming pool.

Holidaymakers looked on aghast as the beast was carried away in order to be released into nearby woodland.

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.