A reptile catcher dragged a massive 7ft monitor lizard out of a resident's overgrown garden in Thailand.

Volunteer Chatchai Sriwisorn and her co-worker were called to a house at the Home Garden Ville estate in Nakhon Ratchasima to deal with the giant beast lurking in a local's backyard on November 9.

The specialists found the creature lying amid tall leaves and shrubs, and easily caught it by catching its neck with a noose. They then dragged it to the home's entrance, where they bound its limbs with some straw rope.

The animal was placed in a sack, transported away from the residential area, then freed back into the wilderness.

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.