A wild monitor lizard was rescued after it was found with its head trapped inside a plastic bottle in Thailand.

Santisuk Kuakkud, 35, noticed the reptile flailing around near a pond by the roadside while he was making a food delivery to a customer in Saraburi province, Thailand on December 14.

The lizard was lying on the ground with the plastic container half-filled with dirty water stuck on its head. Concerned Santisuk and a nearby security guard tried to block the reptile from walking into the pond to prevent it from drowning.

The creature managed to escape so Santisuk contacted a local reptile specialist who caught the lizard hiding in a bed of water plants. They used a knife to carefully cut the plastic bottle loose to allow the animal to breathe.

After being freed, the lizard skittered away returned to the wild.

Santisuk said: ‘I’m happy I was there to stop the monitor lizard from drowning, even if it’s just a wild animal.’