A huge monitor lizard barged into a family's home and hid inside their bathroom in Thailand.

The massive 7ft-long reptile emerged from a nearby canal and barged into the house in Chachoengsao province while resident Prasittichok Boonsob, 33, was opening the door on February 15.

Prasittichok and his girlfriend called reptile specialists for help as the beast hid inside their tiny bathroom.

Footage shows volunteers catching the mud-covered lizard by the neck using a snare pole as it hissed at them.

Due to the aggressive animal's sheer size, the officers had difficulties dragging it out of the house.

They eventually overpowered the lizard and hauled it back to the canal where it is believed to live.

Prasittichok said: 'I came home that afternoon and was knocking on the door so my girlfriend would open it.

'When she did, the monitor lizard suddenly darted past my feet and skittered around the living room before hiding in the bathroom.

'It was so huge and aggressive that my girlfriend was terrified and ran out of the house.'

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.