A resident of Pune in western India noticed a large rat snake hiding under the bonnet of their car.

Worried that it may have gone inside, he called snake rescuer Saidas Kusal to recover the serpent.

Saidas spotted the snake as soon as he lifted the hood and grabbed its tail.

But his attempt to pull the snake out failed as it was reluctant to come out and had entwined itself with the engine's parts.

Saidas said: “Its tail was near the top of the hood and the head was moving towards the chassis. It was resisting my attempt to ease it out of the car.”

Holding on to the tail, he grabbed the upper part of the snake with his left hand and then pushed its tail down.

With the entire snake at the bottom of the hood and with Sai keeping a firm grip, there was no escape for it.

After a while, the nearly eight-foot-long non-venomous rat snake gave in and slid out of the car smoothly.

Saidas put it in a bag and released it in a nearby forest later.