Locals were baffled when this enormous Boeing 747 suddenly appeared in a muddy field near their homes.

The Queen of the Skies appeared to have landed in the remote patch of grass in Chai Nat, Thailand, when it showed up overnight earlier this month.

Villagers flocked to take pictures of the Jumbo Jet with a distinctive purple and gold Thai Airways livery which had been stripped of its GEnx engines.

Apart from the cargo hold, all of the doors to the plane were shut making it impossible to climb inside and investigate further.

Villager Prae Anan, 40, said: ''At first, I thought it might have run out of fuel and stopped in the field. I've never even been on an aeroplane so it was a big surprise. I could not believe it.''

Residents flocked to the site when the plane first appeared before landowner Somchai Phukieow revealed that he had bought the decommissioned aircraft at a local auction.

Somchai said he had the plane delivered by lorry before it was lifted by a crane and lowered onto concrete blocks to prevent it from sinking into the wet ground.

He said: ''I bought the plane at an auction in the city. The engine and all the computer parts were taken out already.

''I would like to make a small attraction here, with a motor-cross track and a football pitch, so people can look inside the plane and watch the sports from inside, too.''

Somchai allowed visitors to photograph the plane from a distance but has prevented anybody from climbing inside.