A killer crocodile was dragged to death by vengeful villagers after it killed a father in Indonesia.

The 15ft reptile pounced on Marianus Bria while he was walking around a palm plantation in East Kalimantan on May 21 evening.

Marianus had wandered near the reservoir, raising his phone as he tried to get better reception. However, the beast surged out of the water and latched onto his torso.

Residents rushed out of their homes upon hearing the father's pained cries. They managed to yank Marianus from the predator's grasp and rushed him to a hospital for treatment. He later died from severe injuries on his arm and abdomen.

M Idris Syam, head of the local disaster response office, said: 'The victim was reported to have been looking for better phone signal and playing with his cellphone under a palm tree in Block H36, right in front of the school area. Unexpectedly, a crocodile attacked and killed him.

'Currently, his body is at Kudungga Hospital and is planned to be returned to his hometown for the burial process.'

Furious locals returned to the reservoir to hunt the beast that night.

Footage shows them stabbing the large reptile with poles as it flailed around in the water. Weakend from its injuries, the killer croc was trussed up with rope and tied to a car to be dragged around the neighbourhood streets in a sickening public execution.

A resident named Adhe said the plantation was teeming with crocodiles, especially at night when they are most active.

The Indonesian archipelago is home to 14 types of crocs - with a large population of extremely large and violent estuarine crocodiles that flourish in the region's climate.

Conservationists believe that crocodiles have been driven further inland closer to villages due to overfishing reducing the crocodiles' natural food supplies combined with habitat loss from the development of coastal areas into farms.

Widespread tin mining has also caused villagers to encroach on the crocodiles' natural habitats, pushing the creatures closer toward people's homes.

With uneducated locals in the developing country still using rivers for bathing and primitive fishing, the deadly combination of factors has led to rising numbers of crocodile attacks.