A villager resting at his seaside home survived a crocodile attack by elbowing the beast in its face.

Sariul Sarakal, 27, was sitting on a wooden walkway near his stilt house when a massive crocodile leapt out of the sea in Tawi-Tawi province, the Philippines, on February 3 evening.

The reptile sank its fangs into Sariul's side and dragged him off his perch. But before the predator could savage him with its violent 'death roll', he managed to dislodge its grip by elbowing its face repeatedly.

The bleeding resident managed to hoist himself up onto a wooden bridge as the croc swam away.

Gruesome footage shows housewives tending to an injured Sariul, seen nursing deep gashes near his ribs. He was taken to a nearby hospital where he received stitches for his wounds.

Local disaster response officer Sarima Atara said: 'The residents said the crocodile was large. It was powerful enough to leap out of the water and drag the victim into the sea. It could not have done that if it were small.

'We have already discussed this issue in a council meeting. Crocodiles are one of the threats among the residents, especially in infested areas. For our preventive measures, the disaster official-in-charge and the village head constantly remind the locals to be careful.'

A relative of Sariul said crocodile attacks were common on the island province. Two other neighbouring towns were also known habitats of the creatures.

He said: 'Many of the townsfolk here have been bitten by crocodiles. There are maybe around seven of them. But none have died yet, they were only injured.'

On January 8, a huge 18ft crocodile sparked fear when it was spotted lurking off the shores of Languyan town in the same province. Fishermen caught hulking beast in a net and handed it over to the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Energy to be cared for.