A man in Florida was stunned to find a huge alligator hiding under his parked car at 3am after alert cops saw the reptile venturing into the apartment complex and shouted “freeze” before he was about to get in his vehicle.

The incident took place at Immokalee Apartments on W. Delaware Avenue in Collier County in the US state of Florida at around 3am on 6th November.

The six-foot alligator was spotted crossing the road towards the apartment complex by alert cops on patrol.

Germaine James, the car owner’s grandson, was walking towards the vehicle when he heard an officer shout “freeze” and signalled to the alligator under the chassis, according to Fox News.

James said: “Goosebumps everywhere, like, dang. Never been this close to an alligator. It was nerve-wracking.”

A licensed animal trapper used a steel catch pole to lead the alligator out from under the parked car and subdue it before releasing it in the wild.

In the images, the large reptile is seen hiding underneath the car chassis virtually undetectable to any unsuspecting passerby.

The Collier County Sheriff’s Office shared the images on social media on 6th November with the message: “Deputies spotted a 6 foot alligator crossing W. Delaware Avenue into the Immokalee Apartments just before 3am. This morning, the gator hid under a resident’s vehicle just before he came outside to retrieve something from his car. The State Alligator Trapper responded and was able to collect the gator and relocate it to a more suitable environment.”