Three children sparked panic after they were seen swimming with a crocodile.

The youngsters were splashing around with the 7ft long reptile in Sabah, Malaysia on July 2.

Shocked neighbours saw them and rushed over - but fortunately the crocodile had already died and posed no risk to anybody.

Footage shows the kids playfully opening the croc's jaw and pushing it around the shallow water in the river outside their homes in Kota Kinabalu.

They drag it by the tail and swim underneath its belly while tugging its arms.

Neighbour Faid Zul said that he was stunned when the saw kids playing with the crocodile and they even touching the mouth like it was normal pet animal.

He said: ''I'm surprised nobody stopped them. Even though the crocodile was not alive, it's still a dangerous thing to do. If there's a dead crocodile in the water, there could be others living nearby.''

The beast is believed to have been dead a few hours before it was seen floating on the surface of the muddy water.

Residents eventually dragged the kids from the river and the local authorities arrived to carry away the crocodile corpse.