A rampaging wild monitor lizard raided a supermarket in search of food in Thailand.

Footage shows the frantic reptile scratching against a glass door while the shopkeepers chased it away with a mop in Samut Prakan province on April 25.

It crawled through a shelf with canned goods and snacks before going into a narrow space behind the cabinet.

But the assistant wouldn't let the creature stay in their workplace and chased it away.

Shop owner Sanan Suparee said: ‘We didn't know what to do. We were afraid to hold it because it might attack us.'

Sanan added the monitor lizard came after heavy rains battered the area. She said it was attracted by the smell of the fresh food and watched a bite to eat.

She said: ‘Maybe its home had been flooded by rainwater and it needed a good meal. Unfortunately, we couldn't let it eat all of our stock. I hope it can return to its home soon.'

A neighbour volunteered to catch the reptile and released it back to its habitat.

Asian water monitor lizards normally live in canals, swamps, sewers and ponds in cities in Thailand. They feed on fish, snakes, frogs and scraps of food left by humans.

The reptiles are aggressive when threatened and have a mildly venomous bite which sometimes carries harmful bacteria. The Godzilla-like reptiles are also a protected species in the country so their population thrives.