A monitor lizard was caught after invading a family's home in Thailand.

The 5ft-long reptile sparked panic among residents when it wandered inside the property in Nakhon Si Thammarat province on February 7.

It refused to leave and squeezed in a narrow space of the house's wall so resident Pornprom Paankum, 32, called the animal rescuers for help.

When the team arrived they had to plan carefully how to lure the animal out of the tight space until they were able to capture it with a pole and noose.

Relieved house owner Porprom said: 'The monitor lizard was so big, we did not know what to do. I think it was equally afraid of us and hid between the space.'

The lizard was taken out of the property and released back into the wild.