Residents were terrified when a hungry wild elephant broke into their house in search of food.

The rampaging beast forced its way through a door and smashed a window in the property in Rayong, eastern Thailand, on Wednesday morning (June 24).

Saman Manuskhao, 42, said he thought there was burglar inside so he shouted at them to leave then opened his bedroom door. He was shocked when he saw the elephant in the garage before it pushed through into the kitchen.

Saman feared he could be trampled so ran away and banged on his neighbour's door and they called the emergency services.

The village chief arrived and helped to chase away the juvenile elephant. They found that Saman's windows had been smashed, his pickup truck dented and several of his trees had been trampled.

Saman said he believed the jumbo was hungry and looking for food as it had grabbed a jackfruit from the tree before leaving.

He said: "After he left my house he rammed into my jackfruit tree and took one of the fruits with him.''

Village chief Thongchai Rojchanawanichayakorn said the same elephant had caused problems in the past when it had wandered through the village in search of food.

He said: "This elephant usually came with a couple of friends and the herd was always came to the village to find food.

"Many villagers' properties have been raided before, so the only thing they can do is strengthen their homes."

He added that he wanted the government to take care of the issue as the villagers are now living in fear.

He said: "We can't ask the elephants for compensation so the government has to help.''