A mouse has been given its freedom after it tackled a poisonous snake in a bid to save a fellow rodent at a zoo in China.

The two mice were served up as a live dinner for the snake at Hangzhou Zoo in Zhejiang province, eastern China.

Keeper Wen Shao said: "We always give the snakes live food and we put the two mice into the snake enclosure, but instead of trying to hide like they usually do one of the mice attacked the snake when it saw it trying to eat the other mouse.

"I have never seen anything like that before, usually the mice keep as far away from the snake as possible but this one caused a lot of damage.

"It was biting the snake on the head as the snake was trying to eat the first mouse."

He added that the mouse had deserved its freedom after putting up such a brave fight.

"In any case it didn't do the snake any good either, it was expensive and the mouse did a lot of damage by biting it on the head," he added.

Sadly the mouse did not succeed in its bid to free its pal. It died and was later eaten even if mighty mouse was no longer around to witness it.

pinky n the brain