An agile pensioner shows how he climbs up coconut trees without any safety equipment to retrieve food.

Sawang Kaewmuang, 65, was teased when he was younger because of his short stature - which has proved a blessing for his tree climbing skills.

Footage taken on Wednesday (December 11) morning in Ang Thong, central Thailand, shows how Sawang can scale 90ft high coconut tree with his bare hands and feet.

Sawang tucks a machete into the back of his shorts then shimmy up the plam tree trunk like a monkey.

At the top he has to dodge bees, hornets and snakes to collect the coconuts.

Sawang has carved out a relatively lucrative living for the region, collecting coconuts and trimming the leaves for grove owners. He earns 50 THB (1.25 BGP) per tree.

He can get through 15 trees a day, pulling in around 750 baht (18.50GBP), around twice times the average daily wage for the area.

The pensioner said he has fell for several times but it the dangers have never deterred him.

Sawang said: "I have been doing this for 40 years and have fallen six times but I have never been injured badly. I have only lost several teeth, which is nothing serious.

"Sometimes there are dangers at the top of the trees, such as hornets, bees, or snakes but I always manage to stay safe. I know this job is dangerous but it is the only job I could do and I will do it as long as I can.''

The palm grove owner said that Sawang was the only one they knew who could climb so high.

She said: "He is really good at climbing the high coconut tree, we have been hiring him for a long time because he's very good value.''

An agile pensioner shows how he climbs up coconut trees without any safety equipment to retrieve the food.

Sawang Kaewmuang, 65, was teased when he was younger because of his short stature - which has proved a blessing for his tree climbing skills.

Footage taken on Wednesday (11/12) morning in Ang Thong, central Thailand, shows how Sawang can scale 90ft high coconut tree with his bare hands and feet.

Sawang tucks a machete into the back of his shorts then shimmy up the plam tree trunk like a monkey.

At the top he has to dodge bees, hornets and snakes to collect the coconuts.

Sawang has carved out a relatively lucrative living for the region, collecting coconuts and trimming the leaves for grove owners. He earns 50 THB (1.25 BGP) per tree.

He can get through 15 trees a day, pulling in around 750 baht (18.50GBP), around twice times the average daily wage for the area.

The pensioner said he has fell for several times but it the dangers have never deterred him.

Sawang said: "I have been doing this for 40 years and have fallen six times but I have never been injured badly. I have only lost several teeth, which is nothing serious.

"Sometimes there are dangers at the top of the trees, such as hornets, bees, or snakes but I always manage to stay safe. I know this job is dangerous but it is the only job I could do and I will do it as long as I can.''

The palm grove owner said that Sawang was the only one they knew who could climb so high.

She said: "He is really good at climbing the high coconut tree, we have been hiring him for a long time because he's very good value.''