A terrified wild monitor lizard climbed a fence and clung on for its life to escape a pack of baying guard dogs.

The reptile was looking for food when it wandered onto the property - unaware it was guarded by five ferocious dogs in Pathum Thani province, Thailand on May 24.

It tried to fight off the pooches by smashing them with its tail, but the amused dogs only stared at the reptile blankly while waiting for its next move.

Realising it was outnumbered, the panicked lizard made a desperate escape attempt. Footage shows how it climbed up a fence surrounded by barbed wires and clung to a pole before the house owner found it and called for the rescue team.

House owner Nopparat Butsongkror said: ‘This chubby creature was stuck on the fence. It must have been regretting entering our yard.’

The reptile rescuers arrived around 20 minutes later and helped the creature from the pole before taking it back to the wild. It was unhurt from the incident.

Monitor lizards are a common sight across Thailand including in the capital city Bangkok where they lived on canals and rivers. These reptiles are a protected species in the country so their population thrived. They were usually shy among humans but have fangs that could pierce through the skin and cause injuries.