A huge monitor lizard weighing 40kg was caught under a family's car in Thailand.

The large Godzilla-like reptile was discovered by the owners of a white Toyota Yaris parked in front of their home and called the rescuers for help in Phitsanulok province on September 1.

Footage shows the team of five volunteers working on capturing the 6ft-long lizard. One of them held a catching pole securing the animal's neck, three others battling to drag its body out, and another on standby holding a sack in case it tried to escape.

They pulled it out into the streets, and one of them pinned its back to the ground with his knee to keep it from slithering away.

Rescuer Chanrit Khunjong said: ‘It was so big and occasionally hissed to threaten us. We covered its head with a sack and released it into the wild.'

No one was hurt or damaged, and the animal was returned to its habitat.

Meanwhile, superstitious locals were excited to use the car's plate number for their lottery tickets, believing animal encounters are lucky.

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.