A rampaging monitor lizard held up traffic while it hid under a car then ran into the road.

The wild reptile was seen darting until a vehicle in the Makkasan district of Bangkok, Thailand.

The lizard was so big that a shocked neighbour who feared it could attack people called the emergency services.

Rescue teams arrived but the reptile burrowed deeper under the car before trying to make an escape. It fled into the road where passing drivers slammed their brakes to avoid hitting the creatures.

Reptile handlers used two long tubes with lassos around the ends to snare the beast and it was finally pushed into a sack.

They said the lizard was trying to enter one of the homes in search of food but it was disturbed and panicked, so hid under one of the cars that were parked in front of the house.