A hungry python was wedged in a drain while trying to eat a monitor lizard.

The 8ft serpent was trying to drag its meal underground but became trapped in a pipe near a restaurant in Bangkok, Thailand, on August 29.

Animal rescuers rushed to the scene after receiving a call from shocked employees, who found the python wrapped around the monitor lizard near the shop entrance.

Footage shows the team smashing up the pavement using a hammer. They discovered the snake still coiled around the live monitor lizard.

The python released its grip as officers tried to yank it loose. After several failed attempts to pull it out, they made a larger gap and freed the python, which was later handed over to the Rat Burana Fire Station for release.

Volunteer Samran Sawatdee, 56, said: 'The capture of the snake was quite challenging. We had to break up the floor before we could get to it. Pythons have tough scales that help them latch onto surfaces, making it extremely difficult to pull them loose.'

Restaurant worker Suthat said: 'I saw a monitor lizard trapped by a python. I was shocked and couldn't do anything. I was only a restaurant employee, so I told the owner, but no one in the restaurant dared to catch it. We had to call the rescue workers. It was the first time a snake had entered here. Monitor lizards are more common.'

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.