A stowaway monitor lizard played hide and seek with the frantic ferry crew.

The reptile somehow slipped past the workers and boarded a passenger vessel travelling between islands in Cebu province, the Philippines on December 28.

It was later found scurrying across the ship's viewing deck and engaged the crew in a wild goose chase.

Footage shows the agile 1ft-long lizard running away and hiding in the corners of the vessel as a scared worker ran after it.

The swift creature was almost caught but it beat the worker to the drain where it remained until the boat reached its destination.

Crew member Felipe Petallo said: ‘We thought it was a snake at first. I was so terrified and let my friend catch it.

‘But then it ran out of its hiding place and we saw it was a lizard. It ran around like it was playing hide and seek with us and we couldn't beat it.'

Felipe added the monitor lizard might have hidden in the space under the viewing deck.

He said: ‘We never saw it again. It was smart. I think it stayed under there until we arrived at the port.'