A huge monitor lizard with a harpoon lodged in its head was rescued in Thailand.

The 13ft reptile was discovered shuffling near a roadside pond in Samut Prakan province on March 18.

Shocked locals called for help after spotting the 12-inch projectile jutting out of the injured creature's scaly head.

Rescue teams arrived at the scene and spent around three minutes trying to drag the powerful beast out of the pond. Despite its grievous injury, the lizard managed to flail and thrash against their snare poles before being subdued.

The officers extracted the harpoon, and the hardy reptile was released back into the water, seemingly unbothered by its near-death ordeal.

Moo, a motorcycle taxi rider, was the first to come across the monitor lizard. He said he had initially assumed it had been struck by a vehicle.

He said: 'I tried to drag it off the road, but then I saw the harpoon. I tried to pull it out by myself, but it was lodged too deep. More people came to help, and we called the animal rescuers for assistance.'

Local pond owner Boonchuay Khamsorn, 86, said she was riding her electric bicycle nearby when she saw the villagers gathered next to the water.

She said: 'At first, I thought the lizard had been run over by a car, but then I saw people trying to yank the harpoon stuck in its head. They couldn't pull it out so they dragged the lizard toward the edge of the fish pond away from oncoming cars. Then a villager called the authorities to come and help.

'Normally, there are many monitor lizards here. A fisherman must have shot it while fishing, so it swam away and hid in this area.'

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.