A large Godzilla-like monitor lizard crashed through a student's bathroom.

The 5ft-long reptile was discovered when it tried to poke its head out of the hole in the ceiling at a Mahidol University campus dorm building in Nakhon Pathom province, Thailand on May 30.

Panicked youngster Sumita Sattaporn said she saw the creature's tongue slip out between the gaps overhead upon hearing a knocking sound.

Sumita rushed out of the room and called for help before the security guard arrived with a pole to catch it.

Footage shows the employee using a makeshift catching tool made from blue PVC pipe and rope. The ceiling cover plate had been partially opened, exposing the lizard's claws and tummy.

Sumita said: ‘I have been hearing the weird knocking sounds on the ceiling of my room. I thought people were only repairing something above but I was wrong. It turned out that I have been neighbours with this animal all along.'

The helpful security guard continued to poke the creature and lure it out while more of Sumita's schoolmates checked on her, curious about what was causing the commotion inside.

Eventually, the heavy lizard fell from its weight while the security guard failed to secure its limb.

The animal crashed onto the toilet floor, and the employee quickly closed the door to keep it from escaping.

He fixed the noose with his DIY tool and waited for the right chance to come inside and finally catch its head.

While a student held the catching pole, the man carried the lizard out while a cloth covered its eyes.

Sumita said: ‘The lizard was released after that. It was so big from eating the rats and cockroaches on my ceiling.'

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 thrives.