A worried father called the police after discovering a lion trying to get inside his home.

Miguel Martinez, 32, found the big cat hiding on his driveway in Guadalupe, Mexico, and quickly called the police after watching the animal try and break into the property which housed his wife and children, reports the Daily Mirror newspaper.

He said: “At first I thought it was a toy. It was lying perfectly still and looking at me.

“But when I opened the car door it growled and moved a bit and I realised to my horror that it was real.

“It then went to the front door and began whacking it, and I was worried sick that my wife or children would come out and be attacked.

“I called them on the phone and told them to stay put and then called the cops before slamming my door shut in case it came for me.”

Fortunately, the police quickly managed to trap the seven-month-old cub, who had escaped after being given to Mr Martinez’s expectant neighbour, Maria Fernanda Martinez, as a gift for falling pregnant.

The lion, named Simba, has now been re-homed at La Pastora Zoo.