Animal rescuers had to demolish part of a home’s wall to save a huge monitor lizard stuck between the narrow gap.

The hapless reptile was heard scratching around inside the crack on the wall of an old house in Phetchabun province, Thailand on January 30.

House owner Padapa Pannil, 46, tried to scare it away by poking, but it did not budge so she realised it was trapped.

She called the rescue team for help but they had difficulty hooking the animal’s neck as it trapped too deeply.

As a last resort, they asked permission to tear parts of the wall down so they could save the reptile and the kind house owner agreed.

The team used hammers to smash the concrete wall and soon after the lizard was free.

The rescue operation lasted for three hours as the team had to minimise the damage on the wall.

They were able to save the 3ft-long lizard that weighed three kilograms and immediately secured its neck with a pole to prevent it from escaping.

It was pulled out of the hole and was taken by the rescuers to be released into the wild.

Padapa thanked the rescuers who left with the animal. She said she’s going to use her house number in her lottery ticket as animal encounters are believed to be lucky.

She said: ‘I am relieved that we were able to save the animal. I hope it’s going to bring me some luck too when I join the lottery.’