This is the moment an SUV fell into a river after its careless driver forgot to set the brakes.

The local, 60, had parked his vehicle near the Rung Chang Riverside Restaurant beside the Chao Phraya River in Ayutthaya province, Thailand, on May 12 to go fishing at the stream.

CCTV footage shows how the vehicle slowly slides down the slope before sliding into the river, shocking restaurant customers.

A waiter bravely plunged into the water trying to push the drifting vehicle back to the riverbank, while the driver borrowed a boat and rowed towards his half-submerged car.

Helpful residents later tied a rope around the SUV and pulled it back onto dry land.

The car was still functional after the incident.

Onlooker Thanyaret Dounjan said: 'The driver was lucky it wasn't high tide. Otherwise, his vehicle would have been completely submerged.'