Customers were shocked when a huge monitor lizard rampaged into a restaurant.

Diners were tucking into dinner when the beast skittered into the Rabiang Mai Restaurant in Nakhon Ratchasima, northeast Thailand, on September 24.

The lizard reportedly tried to clamber over a wall, sparking panic when it scurried through tables.

Animal rescuers later arrived to remove the reptile from the premises.

Footage shows the specialists using snare poles to catch the monitor lizard, which was hiding in a corner of the al fresco dining area.

They hauled it onto their pickup truck to be released into the wilderness.

The restaurant owner said: 'I think it followed the smell of food through a drain and climbed inside. Thankfully, we caught it before more customers arrived, or it could have been more chaotic.'

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.