A wild monitor lizard attacked a school and left children terrified in Thailand.

The aggressive 60kg reptile showed up after a teacher passed by its hiding place under the stairs of a primary school in Nakhon Si Thammarat province on August 11.

Frantic children who also saw the animal were terrified while the huge reptile retreated back to the cramped space to hide.

A rescue team arrived at the school to help evacuate the lizard but due to its size, they had to spend almost an hour to secure it.

Teacher Somsak Aroonphan said: ‘I thought it was just a piece of wood but then the lizard moved and I realised how big it was. I ran back to the stairs and asked the children not to come near.’

Rescue volunteers used a long pole with a noose at the end to pin down the 8ft-long creature as it resisted being caught by the team.

With the help of a colleague, the volunteer was able to secure the animal’s neck and tie its body with a rope before driving away with it to be released later in the wild.

Staff and teachers from the school thanked the rescuers as no one was hurt in the incident including the aggressive animal.