A troop of barbarous monkeys bit a boy who was trying to scare them away from a restaurant in Thailand.

Noppachai, 13, had volunteered to be the 'security guard' for his family's restaurant in Lopburi province during his school break.

However, while he was scaring off several macaques vandalising customers' cars, the savage primates retaliated, pouncing on his head before biting him.

CCTV footage shows the hapless youngster running onto the road as the macaques snapped at his heels.

Noppachai's family came to his rescue and chased the simian attackers away.

The boy was taken to the hospital for rabies and tetanus shots.

He said: 'I didn't expect to be attacked by the monkeys. They might have been hungry and attacked me since I was holding a barbecue skewer in my hand.'

Lopburi has become a popular tourist destination because of its large population of monkeys. The monkeys are mostly long-tailed macaques, and they can be found all over the city, from the temples to the streets.

However, they can also be aggressive and they have been known to steal food and belongings. Police have even started carrying slingshots to defend themselves against monkey attacks.