A group of very surprised villagers found a crocodile wandering around a house in south India, and proceeded to drag it away and dump it in a local canal.

The incident took place in Chidamparam Taluka in Cuddalore district, Tamil Nadu state on 20 December, when local villagers captured a sizeable crocodile that had entered a house.

When forest officials did not turn up to retrieve the reptile, the villagers took the situation into their own hands and released it into the canal.

With heavy rains flooding the Cauvery and Kollidam rivers, crocodile sightings have become more common in the area, but forest officials want to wait for water levels before rehabilitating the wayward predators.