A wild monitor was found in a woman's car engine - then leapt out and scampered down the street.

The reptile sparked panic when the driver saw it taking shelter in the warm and dry vehicle in Lopburi, central Thailand.

Animal handlers arrived but the agile lizard evaded their grasp and sprinted away down the road.

Footage shows the moment when the rescuers tried and failed their second attempt to catch the lizard who ran into a house. The home owner Chayut Wang managed to then trap it under his foot

He said: "I am afraid of the monitor lizard but accidentally stepped on it. I was surprised when I caught it.''

The lizard was put in the back of an emergency vehicle and driven away to be released into the wild.