This is the astonishing moment hundreds of hungry wild monkeys from rival gangs fought over a single piece of food.

The primates are normally well fed by tourists but during the pandemic they were left without their usual source of sweet treats form visitors to Lopburi, central Thailand.

So when one bruised old banana became available, the screeching chimps converged on the same spot and scrambled to grab the fruit.

Footage shows how hundreds of monkeys began tussling for the snack. When one of the animals fled with it, the creatures chased it up a grass bank.

Even locals who are used to seeing the creatures were shocked by their ferocity.

Onlooker Sasaluk Rattanachai captured the scene from outside a shop where she works. 

She said: “They looked more like wild dogs than monkeys. They went crazy for the single piece of food. I've never seen them this aggressive.

“I think the monkeys were very, very hungry. There's normally a lot of tourists here to feed the monkeys but now there are not as many, because of the coronavirus.”

Lopburi is home to thousands of wild monkeys that roam the streets and buildings. Many live in the grounds of the city's ancient Buddhist temples.