This is the dramatic moment two kittens were saved from being eaten by a monitor lizard.

The rescue team rushed to the home in Chachoengsao, eastern Thailand, where the reptile had pounced on the moggies and dragged them under a black tarpaulin sheet.

A woman who owns the house contacted the emergency services after she saw the reptile hiding in her back garden on July 7.

The beast is believed to have already easten at least one kitten and had two more in its claws toying with them while trying to swallow the hapless felines.

However, animal handlers arrived and chased away the reptile which made an escape by scampering down a drain.

The resident, Thida, said: "I first heard a cat growling from the fence and when I came out to check it I saw the monitor lizard eating something under the cloth.

"I contacted the rescue team to catch it and save the kittens but I think the reptile had already eaten others before it was scared away.''