A hungry wild monitor lizard was caught rummaging through a family's kitchen for food.

The 4ft-long reptile was sniffing the pots and pans when a resident spotted it in the room in Pathum Thani province on June 25.

The lizard then quickly climbed up the wall to escape but it was stuck on the ledge.

House owner Ked Thiranan said: ‘I found the lizard when I entered the kitchen to prepare dinner. It was so big.'

The reptile was eventually taken out of the property by local authorities. It was unhurt and released in a canal.

Asian water monitor lizards normally live in canals, swamps, sewers and ponds in cities in Thailand. They feed on fish, snakes, frogs and scraps of food left by humans.

The reptiles are aggressive when threatened and have a mildly venomous bite which sometimes carries harmful bacteria.

The Godzilla-like reptiles are also a protected species in the country so their population thriv