Police in Gran Canaria were called to deal with a rather different kind of emergency on Wednesday night, after a one-metre-long alligator was discovered underneath a parked car in Las Palmas.

The extraordinary incident happened in the La Isleta neighbourhood of the capital, after the Canary Islands' 112 emergency coordination centre received a call reporting the reptile underneath a vehicle.

Officers from the Special Night Unit of the Local Police were sent to the location given, where they confirmed that there really was a reptile sheltering beneath the car.

Given the unusual nature of the discovery, Local Police then coordinated with officers from SEPRONA, the Guardia Civil's specialist nature and environmental protection unit, to deal with the animal.

The reptile was subsequently immobilised and brought safely under control. No injuries to members of the public were reported during the incident.

The reptile was spotted hiding under a parked car (Image: AH).

How did it end up in a Las Palmas street?

That remains the big unanswered question. Police have not officially confirmed where the reptile came from, how it managed to be in the street or who is responsible for it.

One local report suggested that it could have belonged to a resident who was keeping it as a pet, but authorities have not confirmed that information, meaning there is currently no evidence to establish its ownership.

Police are investigating how the reptile came to be loose in the street.