Police helped a Russian tourist retrieve her bag from a thieving macaque in Phuket, Thailand.

Police Lance Corporal Supachai Arunchot and Police Lance Corporal Phuthip Chotiwatanakorn of the Phuket Provincial Police were off-duty jogging on the island's 'Monkey Hill' when they saw the monkey brazenly attacking several Russian women walking along the trail.

The primate plucked a bag containing a phone, hotel keycard, bag, and phone charger from one tourist's hands, and climbed up a tree out of reach.

Supachai said: 'I learned from locals in that area that to retrieve stolen items from the macaques, you must throw a rock toward the monkey without hitting it. That will scare the monkey enough to drop whatever it's holding.

'I did as they suggested, and the monkey dropped all the items, so I returned them to the tourists.'

The cops believe the women had been trying to play with the macaque before it leapt onto them and snatched their belongings.

The women thanked the officers for their help, heeding their warning not to approach the notorious animals known for stealing food and small items from passers-by.

Khao Toh Sae or Monkey Hill is a popular Phuket tourist spot, where visitors can see the large troupe of macaques living in the forest.

However, local authorities have been urging holidaymakers not to feed the monkeys for their own safety.

In February, the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organization held a meeting to address the increasingly hostile macaques on the hill.

Illegal vendors selling food for tourists to give to the macaques were cleared from the area.

Bags will also be inspected at a checkpoint on a road up the hill, as bringing food along was prohibited.