Indonesian croc freed after five years trapped in tyre

A wild crocodile in Indonesia who was trapped in a tyre for more than five years has been rescued, freed from its rubber vice and released back into the wild, officials and residents said Tuesday.

Conservation workers have been trying to lure the stricken saltwater crocodile from a river since 2016 after residents of Palu city on Sulawesi island spotted the animal with a motorbike tyre wrapped around its neck.

But it was a local resident who snared the 5.2-metre (17 foot) long reptile -- who was regularly seen sunbathing in the Palu river in Central Sulawesi -- from its tight squeeze late on Monday.

Tili, a 34-year-old bird-seller, used chicken as bait and ropes to catch the beast at the end of what he said was a three-week rescue effort, before dozens of locals helped to drag the crocodile to shore and cut the tyre around its neck.