A school of hungry koi hurled themselves from the water to gobble up pieces of food.

A student in Jinan, Shandong province, eastern China, sparked a feeding frenzy when she left the bread she was planning to throw into their pond on the side.

But within seconds, the hungry fish were throwing themselves onto dry land to nab the food before other fish got a sniff of it.

The student's phone footage shows the koi with their mouths wide open waiting to be fed. But as the crowd gets larger, some start to jump out of the pond to nibble at the bread before falling back into the water.

Koi fish are coloured varieties of the Amur carp (Cyprinus rubrofuscus), often kept in ponds or water gardens for their striking appearance. The koi vivid colours originate from a breeding programme that began in Niigata, Japan, in the early 19th century.