This is the dramatic moment three fugitives were captured after stealing a prison truck and spending two nights sleeping in the jungle.

The suspects were being driven to a courthouse for a trial in Chumphon, Thailand, on Thursday morning when the bungling van driver stepped outside and left the key in the ignition.

One of the group jumped behind the wheel and smashed through an iron gate with two prisoners in the back. They dumped the vehicle and spent two nights sleeping in the undergrowth surviving without food or water.

Officers who found them this morning said they were ''thirsty and hungry'' and gave them bottles of water and biscuits - before hauling them into a secure truck to face a lengthy stretch in jail.

Lt. Col. Nattawat Suntanan, Director-General of Corrections Department, said the three men were arrested at 6:20am this morning (Saturday).

He said: ''All three men have been caught. They will be detained securely this time. This was a successful co-ordination between different agencies to capture them. People in the area can feel safe again now we have them.''

Tharathip Permlarp, 26, Krisada Ketnui, 36, and Pichit Klinocha, 31, were arriving at court on Thursday morning at 9am to face drugs and theft charges.

CCTV footage shows how two of the prisoners caused a distraction by attempting to escape on foot while the three men in the prison truck managed to steal it, because the guard had left the engine running with key still in the ignition while he was taking prisoners out.