A bloated monitor lizard sparked panic after rampaging into a shop and escaping into the car park.

Animal handlers responded when the convenience store staff called them to catch the huge reptile in Bangkok, central Thailand.

The team searched the parking lot where the beast was found hiding under a car.

The aggressive reptile tried to evade the catchers as it kept darting under different cars.

They finally captured the wild animal after using a rod while one of the men pulled its tail and dragged it from under the car.

One of the wranglers knelt on top of the reptile to put weight on it while the others tied its legs and mouth with a rope.

A rescuer said it was one of the biggest lizards they ever caught in the area.

He said: "It was hard to catch because of its size. We can't just go and grab it. We need to make sure that it is secured or it could hurt us."

It was placed inside a sack before they carried it to their truck to release it back to the wild later.