This is the amusing moment locals rode inflatable dinghies through flash floods in Thailand on Friday afternoon.

One of the people was an ex-pat who was seen relaxing on an inflatable boat after a tropical storm battered the city of Pattaya in the east of the country.

Onlooker Thipwan Ratchagarut said: 'Everybody else was staying inside trying not to get wet from the floods but this man was playing in his boat. The crazy foreigner made everyone laugh. He lives in a condo on this road and he's from Europe.'

Some roads were submerged in more than a metre of water as debris and household items were washed away in the deluge, which lasted for several hours.

A people carrier car was also seen being washed away in the muddy torrents.

Onlooker Khun Kittisak said: 'This happened right in front of my house, the water came up to my waist. It was very unfortunate for the car.

'I couldn't go out to help because the house was flooded to my waist. All of the power outlets were flooded too. The door of the house is an electric door, so I couldn't open it.'

Thailand and other countries in Southeast Asia such as Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines are in the middle of their tropical monsoon rainy season, which lasts until October or November. Soaring temperatures reaching 35 degrees Celsius are often followed by powerful tropical storms with thunder, lightning, rain and flash floods.

Thailand suffers from regular flash floods due to the chronic under investment in its city infrastructure, with drains and sewers overwhelmed with water from the flooding.