A wild monitor lizard smashed through a hole in a restaurant's ceiling above shocked diners.

CCTV footage shows the customers looking up from their tables with terrified expressions before one of them fled her seat to hold a friend in Bangkok, Thailand.

The frightened woman went outside, hiding behind the door followed by her friend, until the employees noticed what was happening and checked on it.

As it turned out, the lizard pushed down the light fixture, which dangled before it poked its head out of the hole. It went away on its own, and no one was hurt or damaged by the animal.

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.