A monitor lizard had to be rescued after it was trapped under the engine of a car while trying to hide.

The 5ft-long reptile was rummaging through a house for food before it tried to escape to a garage in Chachoengsao province, Thailand on January 14.

It searched for a hiding place and saw the car as the perfect spot. However, the hapless animal was stuck as it squeezed its way into a narrow space.

To help the creature the owner sought the help of animal rescuers who spent three hours trying to pull it out safely.

House owner Pornchai Pangkhamsai, 28, said: ‘I as trying to chase it out but it was scared and went under the car. I didn’t think it would try to fit its body in the hole.

‘When I looked down, it was already inside but its tail was still dangling as it could not take its whole body.’

The rescuers used a forklift to elevate the car but after two hours of pulling, the monitor lizard still would not budge.

Some parts had to be removed with the help of mechanics and after 15 minutes, the rescuers had enough space to take the monitor lizard out.

After three hours, the lizard was rescued and the grateful owner thanked the team who released the animal to the wild.

Asian water monitor lizards live in canals and ponds in large cities in Thailand where they feed on fish, snakes, frogs and scraps of food left by humans. They are aggressive when threatened and have a mildly venomous bite which sometimes carries harmful bacteria.