Wildlife officers rounded up dozens of monkeys rampaging through a town in Thailand.

Staff from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) lured the macaque gang into large cages placed at a junction near a market in Lopburi on May 24.

The town has been overrun by the beasts and locals are desperate to remove them.

Veera Kunchairuk, deputy director-general of the DNP, said: 'The director-general is concerned for the locals affected by the monkey problem. To address the issue, a team was dispatched to capture, sterilise, and transfer the monkeys to temporary shelters until we can find a suitable habitat.'

Officials said that only 33 monkeys out of a target number of 300 had been caught so far because the animals had become wary of the trap.

The troop reportedly stayed away from the cage and only pairs of macaques were lured by the bait.

The first batch of captured monkeys was taken to a field hospital and screened for diseases before being sterilised.

The DNP said the macaque-catching operation will be completed by May 28.

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. They were even seen on CCTV last month attacking a motorcycle rider to steal his lunch.