This is the moment a wild monkey trying to steal food caused a head-on motorcycle crash in Thailand.

The eagle-eyed macaque was sitting on the roadside when it spotted Honda Wave rider Chanwit Sontiprem carrying a plastic bag while driving along the Ratchadamnoen Road in Lopburi province on March 23.

Thinking there was food in the plastic bag, the ravenous animal jumped onto the two-wheeler and grabbed onto the handlebars, causing Chanwit to lose control.

CCTV footage shows the macaque tumbling onto the road just seconds before Chanwit crashed into a Honda Zoomer-X.

Chanwit, the other driver Mueang Rodsri, and passenger Rai Neawjit were all injured and taken to the King Narai Hospital for treatment.

Onlooker Kittipong Liaopairoj, 39, said that a troop of macaques later stole food that had spilled from Chanwit's bag following the collision.

He said: 'I am worried about the increasing population of monkeys. They are becoming increasingly aggressive, stealing food and vandalising property, because there is not enough food for all of them.

'I would like to ask the relevant organisations to solve the problem to make Lopburi a great place to stay again. This incident is the instance of monkeys snatching food in this area in just a single month.'

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.