Villagers in Indonesia were left horrified when they discovered the body of a missing man inside the belly of a giant snake.

A six-minute video on the website of the Tribun Timur publication shows villagers slicing open the 7m-long python’s carcass to reveal the legs and torso of the 25-year-old victim, named Akbar Salubiro.

Junaedi, the secretary of Salubiro village in West Sulawesi province, said that villagers began searching for Akbar on Monday night after realising he had not returned from his palm oil crops.

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Junaedi said that the search party found scattered palm oil fruit, a picking tool and a boot – and then spotted the engorged python in Akbar’s own back garden.

He said: “When its stomach was cut, we first saw his boot and legs near the neck.

“It seems he was attacked from behind.”

The missing man was found dead but intact inside the belly of the python (West Sulawesi Police)

Villagers used an 18-inch long hunting knife to slice open the serpent and Akbar – still intact – was found dead inside.

Local media reported that Akbar’s wife, Munu, was away at the time and only found out what had happened to her husband when pictures and video emerged in the news.

Village secretary Salubiro Junaidi added: “People had heard cries from the palm grove the night before Akbar was found in the snake’s stomach.

“When the snake was captured, the boots Akbar was wearing were clearly visible in the stomach of the snake.

“Resident cut open the belly of the snake and Akbar was lifeless.”

Reticulated pythons suffocate their victims before swallowing them whole.

Top pic: West Sulawesi Police