Eight chicks were rescued after they fell down a manhole while searching for food with their mother.

The baby chickens were tailing behind the hen around a neighbourhood when the tiny creatures plunged into the gaps between the sewer covers in Chonburi province, Thailand on November 20.

Frantically, the mother hen guarded the area as her babies cried below until passing residents noticed what was happening and called the rescuers for help.

Footage shows the black hen standing guard next to the concrete and steel manhole cover as the volunteers pried it open.

The chickens' owner Saing Suwan, 67, said: ‘I let them out the coop to feed and walk around 6am but the chicks fell down the hole.

‘My neighbours saw hen unusually guarding the sewers around 10 am and called me.'

Saing added the worried mother chicken would chase the dogs away whenever they come near the spot where the chicks fell.

She said: ‘She wouldn't let anyone near the spot except for us.'

When the rescuers arrived, they used a crowbar to lift the cover. A volunteer then climbed down the hole to save the chicks one by one.

The volunteer crawled through the space to lure the chicks out. After about 30 minutes, all eight chicks were saved and placed at a basket before they were returned to their owner with their mother.

Saing added: ‘I was so thankful for their help. My chickens were not hurt because of them. I will have to keep the chicks inside my yard in the meantime until they are big enough and this doesn't happen again.'