Hungry monkeys fight over lunchbox crammed with slices of bread

This is the astonishing moment dozens of hungry monkeys scramble over the sandwiches.

The plastic box packed with freshly-baked slices was left of the ground in Lopburi, Thailand.

As soon as the primates noticed the meal, then swarmed around the box and shoved each other out of the way while clawing at the bread.

Monkeys in the city have been going hungry after tourists that would normally feed them stopped visiting the area due to travel restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Locals who fed the monkeys sugary drinks were also banned, as the liquid was sending them creatures into a breeding frenzy leading to mass castrations as numbers surged.

The monkeys are now surviving on simple snacks being donated by Good Samaritans, who believe the animals are lucky.

An estimated 7,000 monkeys are living in Lopburi, where they roam freely among the city's 70,000 residents.

Hundreds of tourists used to visit the area every day to feed the monkeys but the Covid-19 coronavirus travel ban introduced in March has stopped their source of food.

Following the drop in visitors, footage emerged showing the primates getting into a mass brawl over bananas after the supply dwindles. Since then, they were given sugary snacks and junk food by locals but the diet has made them breed faster and many have become violent.

Officials were left struggling to cope with the soaring monkey population and have started mass sterilization projects.

Supakarn Kaewchot, a government veterinarian, said: ''They're so used to having tourists feed them and the city provides no space for them to fend for themselves.

''With the tourists gone, they've been more aggressive, fighting humans for food to survive. They're invading buildings and forcing locals to flee their homes.''