A pensioner living alone with her five cats was shocked to discover a massive python slithering across the roof of her house.

Gaysorn, 74, said she heard strange noises at night while her cats seemed uneasy in Ang Thong, Thailand.

The grandmother investigated and found the 15ft (5m) serpent coiled on the beams overhead, stalking her felines.

She stayed awake all night, clutching a stick to protect her furry companions until a rescue team arrived in the morning.

Footage shows volunteers using a pole with a noose to reach the snake wrapped around a ceiling beam outside the house.

Two rescuers pulled the reptile from outside while a colleague pushed it from inside.

Gaysorn said: ‘I tried to scare it away, but it did not leave my home. I did not sleep for our safety.'

Animal rescue worker, Lek, first arrived at the propert,y but due to the size of the beast, he had to call for backup.

They successfully captured the python and measured it in the elderly resident's garden before taking it with them for release.

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.