Mechanics yanked out a wild monitor lizard sheltering inside a car engine during a storm.

The repairmen were inspecting secondhand vehicles for sale when the Godzilla-like reptile emerged in Surat Thani province, Thailand on June 4.

They saw it scamper from outside where it was being drenched by the rain into a vehicle.

Footage shows the technicians grabbing the animal's body from the space between gears in the engine.

One of the mechanics said: ‘It was big. We didn't think that it would actually fit in the space under the car.

‘We saw it went under and when we were searching for it, the lizard was gone. We knew it was already inside so we opened up the sedan.'

The creature was later released in a nearby canal after the rain.

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.