A family was horrified when they found a monitor lizard swimming in their toilet.

The residents heard sounds coming from the room and checked before they spotted the 2ft-long reptile poking out of the bowl in their home in Ayutthaya province, Thailand, on July 9.

Footage shows the lizard being extracted by rescuers using tongs attached to a rod. The animal hid at the first attempt, so the reptile handler used his hands to make sure.

He carried the lizard out of the house unhurt and then released it to its habitat.

Panya Chumanee from the Ayutthaya Ruamkai Rescue Team said: ‘The lizard might have swam through the sewage pipes and ended up in the toilet bowl.'

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.