This is the heartwarming moment a stray dog stuck behind a car wheel was rescued in Thailand.

The black male mutt was sleeping under the Toyota Vios when the vehicle reversed over it outside a restaurant in Chonburi province on January 10 afternoon. It was dragged into the wheel well as the tyre rolled across the ground.

The car owner said he was reversing his car when he drove over a small bump shortly before hearing the dog whimpering loudly. He called animal rescuers upon finding the pooch wedged in the wheel arch.

Video shows the officers removing the wheel while the dog panted from stress. The pooch leapt out of the gap once there was enough space, drawing cheers from relieved onlookers and rescuers.

Volunteer Apisak Aim-on said: 'Before the incident, the owner of the sedan had been eating noodles at the restaurant. After finishing his meal, he got in the sedan to continue his errands.

'But while reversing, he heard the sound of the car bumping into something. Then he heard the dog howling, so he quickly went out to investigate and found that the dog was stuck in the front right wheel well. He immediately called the rescue team to come help. Luckily, the dog was not injured.'

Thailand has a street dog overpopulation problem, with as many as 860,000 stray cats and dogs littering the country's streets, the Department of Livestock and Development reported in 2017.

Deputy director-general Somchuan Ratanamungklanon said the stray population was projected to balloon to up to two million by 2027.

Authorities are trying to curb the soaring numbers through pet registration programs, sterilisation drives, and regulations that ban the feeding of strays.