This is the chaotic moment residents rushed to collect copper wire to sell after a fire tore through their slum homes.

Struggling locals scooped up the debris from fallen electric poles, with the pieces of scrap able to fetch up to 9 USD per kg at junk shops.

Footage shows hordes of semi-feral shantytown dwellers swarming across the wires as they pulled them to the ground in Manila, the Philippines, on August 6.

Water from firetrucks flooded the narrow street as locals tried to carry the metals away.

Resident Mark Ambida said: ‘This happened near where I live. The wires were connected to the buildings that burned. Those are owned by the electric company. There were five apartments that were razed.'

Authorities arrived to quell the fracas, sending the men scattering into alleways. Some were seen climbing onto rooftops to escape. Most managed to make off with their loot, stuffing it into sacks.

The blaze in the slum, known as Happyland in the Tondo district of the third world capital, left three people injured and thousands homeless, forcing many into temporary shelters.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but witnesses reported hearing a loud explosion moments before the flames erupted.

(1 PHP = 0.013 GBP)