An Australian tourist was rescued after getting lost in the jungle on a Thai island.

John Critchley, 77, was with a group of 20 holidaymakers during a trek on Koh Larn island off the coast of Pattaya on July 3 afternoon.

They arrived at Samae beach at 2:30 pm local time, but John's companions soon lost sight of him while they were walking through the forest at roughly 4 pm.

The holidaymakers left the island at 5:30 pm before reporting the foreigner's disappearance to authorities on the mainland that evening.

John's friend, a young Thai woman named June, told officers that the pensioner was not carrying any belongings while trekking and he might have lost his way during the hike. Officers found that he had been staying at a hotel in the red-light district Soi Buakhao before he went missing.

The island patrol combed the tourists' hiking trail that night and finally found the Aussie near the Khao Na Yak viewpoint in Nuan beach shortly before midnight.

John said: 'I'll tell you what, I was relieved when I saw people coming towards me. I thought I would be lost all night out there. It has hot and I had no food or water.

'I just want to say a big thank you to all the people that went looking for me. Without them I don't know how long I could have lasted.'

The frail pensioner was wearing a white shirt, sports shorts, and a pair of running shoes, and had multiple wounds and abrasions all over his body. He also appeared to be exhausted but did not have any life-threatening injuries.

John was delivered to the island's medical facility, where he had to get three stitches around his left ankle. He was sent back to the mainland the next morning to recover.

The Aussie thanked the Pattaya Tourist Police, who safely escorted him back to the hotel on Monday morning for him to continue with his holiday.

A police spokesman said: 'The foreign man was lost near a cliff next to the beach. He was weak and had wounds on his body.

'Rescue volunteers immediately took him to the Koh Lan Medical Center. He has now been reunited with his friends so he can rest and recover.'