Magnificent natural footage shows how a wild elephant family walking along a road blocked oncoming drivers in Thailand.

The jumbos were wandering on the concrete path with their young when the motorists encountered them in Nakhon Nayok province on November 28.

Drivers then had to slowly back off to maintain a safe distance between them and the creatures.

Footage taken from inside the car shows the elephant family with two babies approaching.

Onlooker Thip Prapa said: ‘I am a bit nervous when I see the big animals but at the same time it's heartwarming to see them thriving with their little babies.'

Thip added the animals eventually walked back to the forest and the drivers were able to pass safely.

She said: ‘We just had to be very quiet so they are not alarmed by the cars. They don't like loud sounds.'

Thailand has an estimated 2,000 Asian elephants living in the wild where they wander freely among protect forests. However, there is often conflict when they come into contact with humans on roads and in villages.

A similar number of elephants are kept in captivity where they work in the tourist industry or get hired out for religious festivals and weddings. A small number still work in commercial logging.