Shoppers were met with a terrifying sight when a six-foot lizard descended on a supermarket, climbing over the shelves in search of food.

Chilling footage shows the huge monitor lizard inside the 7-Eleven store in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand.

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The massive reptile had climbed out of a nearby canal before crawling into the shop.

Horrified witness Narumpa Tangsin, who filmed the scene, said he was scared about going near the lizard, which he said could be dangerous if it became angry.

He said: “I only stopped at the shop to buy some food and then saw the huge monitor lizard inside. I wanted to buy a drink but the animal was too close to the drinks aisle.

“They’re dangerous animals, especially when they’re angry, so I stayed back and recorded it on my phone.

“I guess that shops have everything, even for lizards.”

Staff and customers hid behind the counter while the beast climbed onto shelves and tossed several cartons of milk onto the ground.

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A worried shop assistant called the police who arrived with reptile handlers to snare the ferocious monitor lizard shortly after lunchtime yesterday.

Asian water monitor lizards live in canals and ponds in large cities in Thailand where they feed on fish, snakes, frogs and scraps of food left by humans.

They are aggressive when threatened and have a mildly venomous bite which sometimes carries harmful bacteria.