A massive monitor lizard shocked residents when it crashed through their living room ceiling in central Thailand.

The 45kg beast sparked alarm as it gouged a large hole in the ceiling boards of the two-storey home in Ayutthaya on Sunday, June 22.

Terrified locals screamed after seeing the huge Godzilla-like creature poking its head out of the gap above them.

They called a rescue team, who arrived at the scene and discovered the monitor lizard curled up in a corner of the gap between the first and second floors.

Footage shows the wildlife handlers dragging the stubborn creature out of its hiding place. They said they spent three hours in a gruelling stand-off with the powerful reptile before it tired out.

The relieved housewife said: 'We kept hearing loud noises coming from the ceiling on the first floor for three or four days, but we had no idea what it was. Today, a hole appeared and the monitor lizard poked through. That's when we realised it had been up there the whole time. We still don't know how it got up there.'

The monitor lizard was hauled out of the house and later released into the wilderness.

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.