A family was terrified after a 10ft tall elephant rampaged through their front garden searching for food in the middle of the night.

The resident, Jaran, 58, was left cowering in the house with his relatives while the jumbo rummaged through their property in Rayong, Thailand, on September 26 evening.

The gigantic mammal waved its trunk back and forth while looking for food around the hut next to the farm.

Footage shows the elephant stomping through the front yard, waving its trunk back and forth, as the farmer's pet dog barks loudly outside.

Jaran said: "We know it was looking for food, but we were still afraid what it will do if it saw people. It was big enough to destroy our hut."

The wild elephant did not find any food and walked back into the jungle after almost half an hour.

It did not damage the farmer's belongings during the encounter.

Six other elephants are reported to be roaming the area as it is near the Khao Soi Dao wildlife sanctuary where more than fifty wild elephants live.

There are an estimated 2,000 elephants living in the wild in Thailand and a similar number in captivity. In the wild they roam through deep jungle and in the country's protected national parks.

However, there is conflict when they come in contact with humans who also use the area of farming and gathering food.