From Sisaket: A one-legged fisherman fought off two ten-foot pythons he caught in his net by biting them in the throat. Fifty-six-year-old Chachawan Chaowaphithikul said the snakes attacked him when he tried to free them from his net.

Mr Chachawan said he placed the net in a brook near his house every day.

When he went to check it on the morning of October 22, he found a writhing mass of snakes trapped inside. Fearing the animals could drown, he tried to free them.

The snakes were very aggressive, however. One of them bit him on the arm, then two tried to constrict him.

“I tried to call for help, but no one came,” Mr Chachawan said. “To save my life I started biting the snakes. Finally they loosened their grip and I managed to trap them in the net again.” Mr Chachawan took the snakes back into the village and called Civil Defence Volunteers to come and deal with them.

The volunteers said they would take the snakes deep into the forest and release them.