A wild monitor lizard ran inside a shop and scared a little girl who was playing on the floor.

CCTV footage shows the energetic reptile scamping through the open doors of the store, where the youngster was laid down with her toys in Samut Prakan, Thailand.

It stopped and stared at the shocked kid before her mum rushed to pick her up, and the animal scampered away. The youngster was shaken by her encounter with the Godzilla-like beast but she was otherwise unhurt.

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.