This is the shocking moment a young girl discovered a gecko tangled in her hair.

Arin Aiyan felt an itch on her head and asked her father to check it in Sukhothai, Thailand, on August 13.

Footage shows the youngster, wearing a ponytail, turning her back to her dad.

He removed the hair tie and carefully searched through the thick strands, eventually finding the motionless small reptile clinging to the locks.

The tiny gecko, visibly startled by being discovered, tried to escape by climbing up Arin's head. The girl then screamed when she felt it moving and asked her parent to remove the creature.

Her younger sister then gently grabbed the gecko, holding it in her hand and petting it.

Geckos are generally not harmful to humans. They rarely bite unless provoked and are considered beneficial because they eat pests such as mosquitoes and flies.