Police were today hunting a pair of tourists who were seen having sex on a beach in Thailand.

Officers were alerted this morning to footage of the couple romping in the shallow water in the Patong district of the popular holiday island Phuket.

Video captured the holidaymakers without any clothes as the woman knelt in the surf and the male stood over her. Shocked locals were heard shouting at them to stop - but they continued with the public display.

One man can be heard in the video saying he 'can't believe what they are doing'.

'They are almost finished now,' he adds.

The pair paddled back onto the sand and put their clothes on before walking away to a nearby hotel on Thursday night, May 1.

Police Colonel Chalermchai Hernsawat, superintendent of Patong station, said he had not seen the video until being contacted by a reporter this morning.

He said: 'The police were not informed about the incident, nor had we seen the video clip, until you called.

'In cases like this, if we are made aware, we can investigate to identify the individuals involved. But if we cannot easily identify them, there is nothing we can do.

'Since there is no victim, there is no one filing a complaint.

'If the person who filmed the clip had reported it to the police from the beginning instead of posting it on social media, we might have been able to locate the tourists.

'But now that a day or two has passed, the tourist may have already left the country, making it impossible to identify them and bring charges.

'If we can, we will proceed with legal action for public indecency.

'In situations like this, we urge the public to call the police to come and investigate, rather than posting on social media. Otherwise, people end up blaming the police for not taking any action.

‘As for this case, we will investigate the circumstances and try to locate the people in the video, but it will not be easy. They might be in another country already.'

The shocking video is the latest case to emerge of holidaymakers romping in public - an offence that carries a fine of up to 5,000 baht for public indecency.

In April, a couple shocked passers-by as they romped in their hotel room, with the lights on and the curtains open. The pair were seen thrusting through the full-length glass doors of the building as crowds gathered below to watch the spectacle in Phuket.

On February 27, a tourist couple were kicked out of a taxi for having sex inside despite the driver's warnings.

A number of holidaymakers have also been seen romping on the beach, including three men in full view of passersby.

It comes amid fears that the once-pristine island of Phuket has been marred by over-tourism as the Thai government implements a visa-free scheme to boost revenue following the barren pandemic years.

The island saw 800,000 foreign visitors last year alone.

Angry locals claim the push for tourist dollars has attracted crowds of rowdy visitors. There are also concerns that the island has become an enclave of criminal activity, with police unable to control street fights and more organised ruffians setting up rackets among local businesses.

Phuket officials said they are implementing tighter immigration controls and screening processes amid a wave of drug-related crimes and illegal activities on the island.