A British expat was shocked when he saw a snake and a lizard locked in a battle in his garden - and couldn’t resist giving the gecko a helping hand.

Daniel Batchelor, 54, was going out on November 9 when he saw the two reptiles in a ‘Mexican standoff’ wrapped around a post next to his house in Pattaya, Thailand.

The golden tree snake had sank its teeth into the blue and orange tokay gecko as it tried to suffocate it, but the lizard had responded by biting the snake.

Daniel, originally from Cowes in the Isle of Wight, arrived and filmed himself prodding the venomous snake - while his terrified wife urged him to stop.

He says in the footage: ''I’m just going out and look what I’ve just seen. The snake’s got the gecko and I don’t think I can do much to help it, and I love these geckos.''

Danny’s worried wife Nim arrives and says: ''He will bite you. No, don’t touch.''

But he continues: ‘’Well, he will, but he won’t hurt me.''

Nim reptiles: ''You don’t know about Thai snake, some snakes can kill you. ''

Danny continues: ''That’s a golden vine tree snake, it's not poisonous. It’s mildly venomous but harmless to humans.

‘’The snake has let go, but the gecko hasn’t. This is amazing. I’ve seen them on Facebook but a drama in my own garden.

''I think the snake’s probably in more trouble, I think he’s bitten off more than he can chew. I’m not sure what to do here.

''The snake’s trying to let go. Let him go gecko, come on. We’ve got the snake’s tail but the gecko is not letting go so you can’t blame the snake for curling round him. This is a 'Mexican stand-off’.