Woman comes home to find alligator in kitchen

The alligator in Sandra Frosti’s kitchen. Photograph: AP

Most people have probably, at some point, heard a few unidentifiable noises in their homes at night - but one Florida woman got more than she bargained for when she went to investigate.

Sandra Frosti went into her kitchen to see what was causing the noises and found an 2.4-metre alligator thrashing around on the floor.

The 69-year-old had returned from an evening out to hear scratching sounds in her home, near Tampa.

When she discovered what was causing them, she ran to her bedroom to call emergency services, who had to be convinced that the creature had got in to her house.

The operator taking her call asked whether what she had seen was actually an iguana.

Police and a specialist wildlife trapper eventually arrived to catch the alligator. Gouges from the creature's claws were left in Frosti's floor.

It is thought the reptile may have been chasing her cat when it came into the house.

Frosti had left a door between her living room and porch open when she went out, and believes the alligator must have pushed through the screen door on her porch before going into the house through the open door.

To get to the kitchen, it would have had to cross the living room and walk down her hallway.

Many alligators inhabit ponds in Frosti's neighbourhood. They are often seen in and around the ponds or sunning themselves on roads.