A cheeky monkey was caught on CCTV stealing food from a family’s fridge in Thailand.

Footage shows the smart primate entering the kitchen and opening the refrigerator before eating pieces of fruit and veg from the home in Lopburi province on July 16.

The monkey briefly stopped ransacking the appliance for a few moments after hearing footsteps from across the room before fleeing away with some eggs as a woman walked in.

House owner Phimontip Rungphant, 59, said the cheeky creature even grabbed food to go before darting out and exiting through the opened door.

She said: ‘I caught the monkey snacking on our supplies inside the fridge. It was very silent so I didn’t think it was there until I saw it.

‘When it saw me standing a few feet away it took some food to go before exiting through the open door which was connected to the kitchen.’

Broken chicken eggs shells scattered the fridge door while food containers and jars were opened by the animal so Phimontip had to throw away half of its content.

However, aside from stealing and tasting the family’s food, it did not leave further damage inside the house nor hurt residents.

Phimontip added that the monkey was intelligent and might return again so they coordinated with local officials to control the wild animals roaming their area.

She said: ‘That monkey was intelligent. I believe it would return and try to steal our food in the future. It might even bring friends next time.

‘We had to throw away half of the food inside the fridge so we will make sure to close the door and prevent it from getting inside the house again.’

The monkeys have continued to wander into the city because of the shortage of food inside the parks especially after accepting of tourists was halted due to the pandemic.

Last year, monkeys in another province Lopburi were sterilised after their numbers spiralled out of control during the coronavirus lockdown, with well-meaning locals feeding them sugary drinks.