A huge monitor lizard was caught after hiding under a pickup truck near homes in Thailand.

The 7ft-longbeast was resting under the shade of the vehicle when it was found by Jeab, 58, a resident of the village in Nonthaburi province.

Worried the lizard might attack her dogs, the woman tried to shoo the beast away with a stick, but it merely ignored her.

After several hours, she found the reptile still lying beneath the pickup, so she called animal catchers for assistance.

Footage shows the officers snaring the lizard by the neck and grabbing its tail to pull it into the open space. It was caught within 20 minutes.

The rescue team then bound its limbs with rope before driving away on their motorcycle to release the animal into the wild.

Jeab said: 'I noticed the lizard crawling under the truck while I was out on a walk. I tried my best to drive it away by hitting it with a stick, but it just kept lying there. Luckily, the volunteers caught it easily before it could attack anyone.'

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.