This is the astonishing moment dozens of wild monkeys ransacked pickup truck carrying bananas.

The primates spotted the vehicle when it was caught in a traffic jam in Lopburi province, Thailand on September 30.

Excitedly, the hungry creatures jumped onto the back of the car and plucked fruit from the bunch.

Footage shows the long-tailed macaques flocking onto the white pickup truck as they peeled and ate the sweet treats.

Onlooker Fai Supatcharakit said: ‘We were on a car a bit further behind the truck when the monkeys came. They ate so fast, I think almost half of the bananas were gone during the slow traffic.'

Fai added that there were only five monkeys at first but then they seemed to have made sounds that called more from their troupe.

Soon after, a whole gang raided the harvest, but the truck driver could not leave immediately because he was caught in the congestion.

Fai added: ‘Then more monkeys came after the others made a sound. It was like they were announcing a feast.'

After around ten minutes, Fai said the truck left the monkey's territory, but the ravenous animals almost had left more banana peel than fruit.

She said: ‘The monkeys were really hungry. I feel bad for them, but I feel bad for the driver too. He came home with many banana peels for sure.'

Thailand had been battling to control their surging monkey population before the pandemic started two years ago. Officials had even begun sterilising large numbers of primates.

There are believed to be more than 10,000 monkeys living in the centre of Lopburi, but only 900 of them have been sterilised as of 2020, local media said.

The creatures even split into rival gangs and regularly have huge fights in the middle of the road.