A Buddhist monk was mauled to death by his own pet pit bull in Thailand.

Phra Bandit Bootsen, 46, was feeding dog food to the one-year-old canine named Jord when it latched onto his hand instead at a temple in Nonthaburi province.

Bandit fell over crying in pain and the unrelenting hell hound brutally tore into his face, leaving him a mangled mess inside the room.

The nightmare devil dog attack came to light when a temple worker named Aou, 28, went searching for the monk early morning today, January 21.

Aou said: 'We hadn't seen Bandit since Saturday, so I decided to look for him. I noticed that the lights in his room were still on.

'I knocked on the door but no one answered. His car was also still in the car park, so I knew he hadn't left the temple.'

Aou said he dismantled part of the jalousie window and reached through the gap to unlock the door. Upon opening it, the shocked worker beheld a gruesome scene.

Bandit was lying face-down in a black pool of blood on the ground. Half of his face had been chewed off exposing the skull underneath, while his left hand had also been severed. Nearby, a tray full of kibble sat nearly untouched.

Local police said they arrived at the temple after receiving Aou's report at 1 am.

A police spokesman said: 'According to the temple staff, the deceased had been raising the pit bull since it was a puppy. It was known to be territorial and aggressive, and it would often bite its owner.'

Officers believe Bandit had been dead for two days, with Jord feeding on his flesh. They did not find his missing hand in the room.

Bandit's body was taken to the Institute of Forensic Medicine for a post-mortem examination.

Aoum said: 'We are at a loss. We don't want to keep Jord here after what he did, but we also don't know anyone who would want to take care of him.

'We cannot kill the dog, that is against our beliefs.'

Thailand is notoriously unregulated over pets and there are no laws preventing people from keeping dangerous dogs.

On August 30, university student Adisak Chansakulnee, 18, was playing with his brother's three American Bully dogs when the canines mercilessly mauled him.

While on September 23, a female cyclist named Daeng Thamthanta, 67, was mauled to death by her neighbour's pet pit bull dog. The American Pit Bull Terrier named Poikai was said to have leapt out of its cage. It savaged her torso and ripped off part of her calf before relatives heard her pained cries for help.

Daeng's family carried her to a nearby shop and called an ambulance, but she died of severe blood loss while the medics were on the way.