A boy learned the hard way not to tease wild animals - when a monkey retaliated by climbing into a car and stealing his food.

The cheeky youngster Nakun Prachoenchuea, 8, was pulling faces at the primate as his family drove through woodland in Prachuap Khiri Khan province, Thailand, on February 9.

His father Piyawat even slowed down so the two lads in the back seat could get a better look at the macaques that had gathered in trees.

But their excitement turned to terror when one of the troop leaped through the window and rampaged through the car.

Dashcam footage shows the beast pinning down the schoolboy and grabbing a packet of crisps, or potato chips, that he had been snacking on. It then scampered out of the window to enjoy its ill-gotten lunch.

Amazed dad Piyawat said: 'We were taking the children to the beach when we saw the monkey. I let my boys have a look at them but I was shocked when it jumped into the car and took the snacks. Thankfully the monkey didn't hurt any of us. They have sharp claws and can also bite.

'My son learned a valuable life lesson not to tease animals as they can strike back when we least expect.'

Piyawat and his wife were worried for a moment that the monkey would hurt the kids, but it only grabbed the boy's food and jumped out of the window.

As no one was hurt, the boys and their parents burst out laughing and left the area to continue their road trip to the beach.