Residents noticed the snake about to gobble down its captured cat and the frightened reptile bolted for safety.
But its chosen escape route – through the drainage hole in the lid of a manhole – proved too narrow.
Rescuers were called to Soi Phra Tamnak 2 in South Pattaya, in Tambon Nongplue of Chon Buri’s Bang Lamung district, and found the python well and truly stuck.
They used an electric iron cutter to free the snake, tossed it in bag and carted it off to the wild.