A grandfather was brutally trampled to death by a wild elephant that wandered into his garden in central Thailand.

Noi Songkroh, 79, was checking his vegetables when he noticed the jumbo tucking into bananas near his home in Prachinburi province.

The tusker, enraged by the flashlight beaming into its face, knocked down the pensioner and stomped him into the ground.

Neighbours who witnessed the horror elephant attack called wildlife officials for assistance on September 25.

Authorities rushed to the residential area at 1 am, where they discovered Noi's mangled body smashed into the mud, with his head and legs deformed.

Just metres away, deep elephant tracks showed where the animal had trudged past homes.

Noi's neighbour, Somkid Koson, said he heard dogs barking outside shortly before Noi was attacked by the beast.

He said: I heard dogs barking so I went to check and saw Noi standing in front of the house. Suddenly, a wild elephant charged at him, killing him on the spot.

'I called the neighbours and informed the village headman, and they tried to drive the elephant back toward Thap Lan National Park.'

Noi's body has been handed over to his family for a funeral. His son, Pichet Songkroh, 53, urged authorities to address the problem of elephants entering their village.

He said: 'I want the relevant officials to take action and find ways to solve the elephant problem and ensure the safety of our villagers. They shouldn't wait for another person to die before acting.'

Last month, a wild elephant fatally trampled 66-year-old farmer Abdullah Kareeya while he was tapping rubber trees in Chachoengsao province.

His daughter and son-in-law escaped and alerted authorities, who later found Abdullah's crushed body at the rubber plantation on August 24.

As of 2024, there are an estimated 4,013 to 4,422 wild elephants in Thailand. The population has been increasing in recent years, but it is still a fraction of the estimated 300,000 wild elephants that lived in Thailand at the beginning of the 20th century. The main threats to wild elephants in Thailand are habitat loss and fragmentation, poaching, and conflict with humans.