Officers caught a river crocodile that bit the leg of an elderly villager fishing for prawns in Thailand.

Authorities subdued the deadly reptile named 'Ai Kay' using a stun gun while it was on the prowl for food at a prawn farm in Chachoengsao province.

The beast had previously assaulted a woman named Patchanee Damrongphan, 64, while she was fishing for prawns in a canal next to the village on June 20. She was crossing the stream and turned around just as the crocodile was poised to bite her leg.

Patchanee managed to shake the predator loose and ran onto dry land to call for help. She was taken to a nearby hospital while the local district chief ordered for the crocodile to be captured.

Fishermen, administrative department staff, and crocodile experts from a crocodile farm close by formed search parties to hunt for Ai Kay.

They found it about 100 metres from the site of the attack when a dog started barking at it. It was lying on the ground with its mouth open, apparently cooling off from the tropical heat.

They zapped the large creature with a taser before tying up its jaws and legs. It will be turned over to officers of the Samut Prakan Inland Aquaculture Research and Development Centre before being released into a marsh in Samut Prakan.

Bang Khla District fisherman Amornthep Chotchuang said: 'Villagers often see crocodiles along the Bang Pakong river. Anyone who sees one should call the authorities.'