This is the dramatic moment a huge cobra was caught in a couple's home in Thailand.

The 13ft deadly serpent sparked panic when it slithered past the residents' feet while they were watching TV in Trat province, at around 4 pm on March 8.

The giant reptile then slithered away and hid under a shelf in the outdoor storage area, prompting owner Wicha Phumngam, 59, to call the local snake catchers.

The specialists arrived and found Wicha waiting anxiously in his yard.

Armed with their tools, the experts took just 10 minutes to locate and catch the fearsome predator. They carefully secured the thrashing creature in a sack to release it into the wild, far from the community.

Wicha said: 'I was enjoying a quiet afternoon watching TV when the enormous snake came in. I screamed when I saw it, and it was startled and slithered away under the shelf.

'I've seen pythons around because I used to raise chickens, but I've never seen a cobra this large. I have no idea why it came into my home when there are no more livestock here.'

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.