A housewife narrowly escaped a terrifying attack by a 15ft python that emerged from a toilet in Thailand.

Chomyong Srikhodon, 52, was bending down to use the squat toilet when she saw the serpent's head peeking out of the plumbing at a restaurant in Sa Kaeo province.

The shocked woman screamed when the beast slithered out of the floor and raised its head to strike her. She put on her skirt and barged through the door yelling, sparking alarm among diners in the small roadside shop.

Staff rushed to close the bathroom door before calling snake catchers for help on June 16.

Footage shows a reptile handler in blue uniform pulling the massive snake out of the hole with his bare hands. He had difficulties due to the creature's girth, but eventually managed to extract it from the toilet.

Laughing about the incident, a relieved Chomyong said: 'I was squatting down to use the toilet when I noticed something inside the hole. I was shocked when it started moving. It turned it was a huge python.

'When it emerged, I started screaming at the top of my lungs. The restaurant staff were shocked. Luckily, I managed to escape before it could bite me.'

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.