A wild monitor lizard sparked panic after rampaging through a family's home and chasing their cat before hiding under the sofa.

Chalam Singtong, 63, heard his pet feline screeching in his front yard in Chachoengsao province, central Thailand.

He rushed to check on the moggie and found it was being chased by a huge reptile trying to hunt it for its next meal.

The cat was able to escape the aggressive lizard, which quickly darted through a wooden couch to hide from the man.

The house owner looked underneath and poked it with a stick to make it leave but it snarled back at him.

Chalam called the animal rescue team for help in evacuating it from his property.

He said: "This lizard used to wander in front of my house. Today, it chased my cat and tried to eat it but failed. I tried shooing the lizard away from my house but it just wouldn't leave."

A single person is enough to take on a normal-sized monitor lizard, but due to the reptile's length, three volunteers had to capture it together.

The volunteers used a long stick with a noose before dragging the monitor lizard from under the bed.

The aggressive lizard tried to fight back but its head was secured in the noose so the rescuers were able to tie its legs.

It was taken out of the man's home in a sack before he thanked the rescuers who will release the animal in the woods later.