Kind residents saved a chubby monitor lizard tangled in a cable in southern Thailand.

The reptile was seen struggling to move across a road by residents jogging and playing badminton in a park in Krabi province on May 31.

When they approached the creature, they found the 2ft-long lizard intertwined in a wire. The group tried to remove the cable right away but the scared animal tried to strike them.

After a few moments the lizard calmed down and they were able to cut the cable slowly with a knife. The animal was freed after almost half an hour.

Chawengsak Saithai, a Krabi Tennis Club member who helped the creature, said: ‘The reptile was quite aggressive and tried to hit anyone who came near it with its tail. We used a stick to keep it steady and began cutting.’

His neighbour Somya Suklim who untied the reptile said: ‘We were relieved that the animal was saved before something bad could have happened to it.’

The group then released the lizard into a nearby canal that leads to the Krabi river. Monitor lizards are a common sight in the area as they lived near canals and edge of forests.