Footage shows Thailand's annual buffalo racing festival, which went ahead despite the coronavirus affecting tourism.

Crowds were smaller at this year's event due to the impact of the pandemic on travel and tourism - but organisers continued with the spectacular races on October 1 in Chonburi province.

Daredevil racers mount the beasts for an adrenaline-pumping 100km sprint to the finish line.

With no saddles, they rely on a piece of rope tied around the animal's shoulder to keep their balance as they thunder through the mud.

Farmers in Chonburi province near Pattaya have kept up the region's annual water buffalo racing event. It marks the end of the Buddhist lent period and the beginning of the rice planting season.

It is also a way to show reverence to the sturdy farm animals, which are still used on farms throughout the country, particularly in the northeast Isan region.

There is also a buffalo beauty pageant in which the animals are decorated with brightly coloured costumes. They then pull wooden carts carrying, some carrying young women in traditional Thai clothes, followed by prayers, incense sticks being lit, and dancing.

Locals in the coastal region have been holding the traditional buffalo races for more than 150 years.