An aggressive wild elephant rammed a pick-up truck and flipped it over - because the driver did not wait for the animal to pass through its territory.

The male jumbo emerged from woodland before holding up traffic around 80 miles east of the capital Bangkok in rural Chachoengsao province, Thailand, on Saturday early evening.

Shocking footage shows the bull pushing its head and trunk against the truck as the driver cowered inside afraid for his life. The red brake lights came on as the car toppled over crashing into the bushes.

The beast backed away for a moment but continued sniffing around the white overturned truck, appearing to look for food.

Shocked motorists quickly reversed while calling the emergency services. The angry elephant disappeared back into the wilderness before wildlife rangers arrived.

The father who recorded the video while was driving at the time said: ‘I was on my family trip when we were stuck in a traffic jam. There were four of us, including my wife, son, and daughter heading to another province.

‘We found the wild elephant blocking the road so we stopped to wait. But we didn't expect that the elephant would do that.'

The man's wife and children could be heard shouting in the video as the vehicle overturned about 40ft-away from them. He then rushed to retreat from the scene away from the creature and protect his family.

He said: ‘It was really scary for us. We are thankful the elephant didn't attack our car.'

The family was unhurt and the driver inside the flipped vehicle was later rescued by park rangers, who are now tracking the aggressive jumbo. Paramedics took the shaken driver to the hospital to be treated for minor bruises sustained when the vehicle was pushed over.

Officials believe the elephant attacked the pickup truck in a defensive move because the vehicle tried to continue along on the narrow road past the jumbo, instead of cutting the engine and waiting for the animal to walk through the road, which is part of its territory.

Thailand has an estimated 2,000 Asian elephants living in the wild - down from 100,000 a century ago - and around 3,000 in captivity owned privately. In the wild they are seen wandering freely among protected forests, occasionally appearing on the roads that run through them.

Male Asian elephants, unlike African elephants, roam alone once they are over ten years old while females remain with the herd. They are most during mating season from November to January when they emerge from the jungles in search of a mate.

There is conflict when they come into contact with humans on rural roads and in villages so wildlife rangers are tasked with monitoring their movements.