A resident was shocked when he found a giant monitor lizard sleeping in his bed.

Footage shows the terrified man opening his door as the 5ft reptile rampaged through the room in Bangkok, Thailand on August 19.

It tried to burrow itself into a hiding place in the corner by the pillow but was still clearly visible. Firemen arrived around 10 minutes to catch the beast.

They said it was taken away and released into a nearby canal, a few hundred metres from the basic single-storey homes.

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.