Thai animal rescuers pulled out a massive monitor lizard stuck inside a car engine.

The volunteers were contacted by a driver who was stranded at a garage after the reptile slipped inside his SUV in Bangkok, Thailand, on June 8.

Footage shows two team members helping to drag the creature out of the white Isuzu.

The lizard was unhurt and later released by rescuers back into its habitat.

Rescuer Phatchapol Prayongyam said: ‘Being a rescuer requires a lot of skills apart from having a heart for animals. Sometimes, we become mechanics too.'

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, sometimes carrying harmful bacteria. The Godzilla-like reptiles are also a protected species in the country so their population thrives.