An aggressive wild elephant rammed a pick-up truck and flipped it over - because the driver refused to 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.

Driver Panida Anuan said: ‘The person inside the truck was safe but he had some bruises because of the fall.

‘It was so scary. I thought I was going to have a heart attack. We immediately left in case we were next.'

Panida added that she called wildlife staff, who began tracking the elephant amid fears of a repeat attack. Paramedics also arrived at took the shaken driver to the hospital where he was 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.

Panida said: ‘We were relieved that the driver was safe. But we are still afraid about passing through that route again.'

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.