A massive elephant woke up a family in the middle of the night after walking onto their front patio.

The jumbo emerged from nearby woodland and went over to a property having seemingly been attracted by the smell of food.

Resident Natthakan went out to look and was greeted by the sight of the beast's giant backside in Hua Hin, southern Thailand, in the early hours of May 4.

It later emerged that the elephant was the same animal, named Plai Boonchuay, that smashed its head through a kitchen wall to steal a bag of rice.

Natthakan said: 'I just tried to stay calm to avoid frightening the elephant. He has a reputation for being aggressive.'

Wildlife rangers said there was little they could do about trying to stop Plai Boonchuay from venturing to nearby homes.

Thailand has an estimated 2,000 Asian elephants living in the wild but there is often conflict when they come into contact with humans on roads and in villages. A similar number of elephants are kept captive where they work in zoos and are hired out for religious festivals and weddings.