A 14-year-old boy had a broken leg after deliberately crashing his motorcycle to avoid a herd of elephants crossing a road in Thailand.

Natthanon Piriyayingcharoen was riding to a classmate’s house to do homework when the accident happened in Chachoengsao province on July 12.

The teenager said he was speeding on his two-wheeler when a herd of at least 50 jumbos emerged from the roadside and crossed the highway.

Startled, the youngster decided to just crash his motorcycle on the side to avoid the animals causing his injuries and broken leg.

Village officer Panya Wajadee said: ’Locals called us and we found the boy crying about 50 metres away from where the elephants had been crossing.

‘Onlookers helped pull him away from the herd. We took him to the hospital because his injuries looked bad.’

The boy was rushed to Tha Takiab Hospital where he was treated for his wounds on the head and arms as well as a broken right leg.

His worried mother and family members were staying with him at the hospital while he recovers. No elephant was injured from the crash as the boy successfully evaded the herd.

Elephants are the national animal of Thailand. An estimated 2,000 elephants are living in the wild and a similar number in captivity.

In the wild, they roam through the deep jungle and in the country’s protected national parks but often encounter humans on roads and in villages. However, they are protected by laws and killing them carries a maximum prison term of up to three years and a fine of 1,000 baht (25GBP).