Six-foot long crocodile wades out of sea in front of shocked beach-goers in Florida

A crocodile stunned onlookers when it suddenly appeared in the surf at a beach in Florida.

The six-foot-long beast was first spotted by a news helicopter amid crashing waves on Hollywood beach, between Fort Lauderdale and Miami, yesterday morning.

Crowds formed behind a perimeter set up by authorities as the reptile eventually began to walk back towards the water.

Wildlife officers were eventually able to catch the large reptile.

They said it would be released into an area of mangroves.