This is the terrifying moment a driver came face-to-face with an angry wild elephant blocking the road.

Sirichai Saengprom, 19, was travelling along the rural track with a local Buddhist monk when they heard the jumbo making noises in Bueng Kan, northern Thailand, on March 31.

The youngster stopped the vehicle and honked the horn to try and scare away the beast – only for the bull to come charging around the corner straight at them.

Panic-stricken Sirichai began carefully reversing as the male elephant sized them up before turning on his heels and trudging back into the forest.

Sirichai said: ‘We heard the elephant but I thought it would just walk off into the trees. When it came round the corner my heart stated pounding.

‘If the elephant had attacked my truck it could have caused a lot of damage. So I was careful not to rev the engine in case it made the elephant angry.’

Sirichai was driving the monk to a remote home in the countryside to carry out a blessing.

An estimated 2,000 elephants are living in the wild in Thailand and a similar number in captivity, where they live in sanctuaries, zoos or work privately for hire at weddings and festivals.

Male Asian elephants roam alone and only join herds to mate. In contrast, African male elephants remain part of the herds.