Officers drilled through a concrete storm drain to rescue a monitor lizard trapped in a pipe.

The three-foot reptile had tried to crawl out of the PVC pipe from underground but became stuck while climbing out of the narrow hole.

Homeowner Kitinan Kanaerew, 54, noticed the animal's upper body sticking out from the ground while he was taking a morning walk in front of his house in Chachoengsao, Thailand on June 10.

He tried to rescue the creature on his own but was afraid he would only hurt it by pulling too hard.

The concerned resident called the Chachoengsao rescue team, with the specialists bringing power tools to the scene.

Footage shows the staff widening the hole in the concrete while the fatigued monitor lizard lay on the ground. They also drilled through the PVC pipe where the animal was jammed, and the lizard was finally freed within 15 minutes.

Homeowner Kitinan said: 'I was trying to rescue the lizard by myself. I even tried using lubricant, but I couldn't save it even after an hour, so I called the rescue team for assistance.'

The exhausted monitor lizard was released into the undergrowth in front of Kitinan's residence.

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.