Snake rescuers in Thailand had an epic hour-long tug-of-war with a python that had been living under a house for over a year - slowly killing off the owner's pet cats. <br /><br />Pensioner Ruang Peung, 65, called the emergency services last Friday night (November 23) after he caught sight of the serpent slithering out of his back door. <br /><br />One of his cats had also disappeared the same day.<br /><br />Animal handlers in Chachoengsao Province, east of Bangkok, arrived and began searching for the snake, which was discovered curled up under the foundations of the wooden home. <br /><br />They spent over an hour trying to yank the determined reptile free, but it had stubbornly wrapped itself around a beam inside its hiding place. <br /><br />Two men pulled the snakes tail with all their strength and a third man had to kick the upper part of its body before it eventually came loose. <br /><br />Relieved pensioner Ruang, who is retired, said: ''Five or six of my cats that live with me may garden have disappeared in the last year. I am sure the snake has been living here for a long time. I've been sleeping in my bed and underneath me it has been there. <br /><br />'''I'm still in shock. I feel sorry for all the cats that it has taken. But I am relieved that it has finally been caught.''<br /><br />Staff from the Chachoengsao Rescue Foundation put the snake inside a sack before it was driven several miles away to be released back into the wild.
