A giant 25ft python was caught slithering near homes in India.

The hulking beast, which weighed a whopping 170 kilogrammes (375 lbs), sparked panic as it lurked in the grass in Ramnagar town in Uttarakhand state, on February 17.

Terrified residents called forest workers to catch the massive snake.

Footage shows the officers lifting the python with its mid-section bulging. It was later released into the wild.

The reticulated python is found throughout South and 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.

The longest captive snake recorded in the Guinness World Records is a reticulated python named Medusa, owned by Full Moon Productions Inc. in Kansas, USA.

She measured 25ft and two inches long when she was measured in 2011.