This is the nerve-wracking moment a terrified monk and his friend had to keep perfectly still while an ELEPHANT raided their pickup truck in south Thailand.

Video from the scene shows the Buddhist in orange robes and his fellow passenger were sitting in the back of the vehicle while travelling home from a market in Chachoengsao on March 29.

Their driver was forced to stop when the enormous wild jumbo wandered onto the forest road and stopped another truck in front of them. Footage shows how the hungry elephant stomped over to them after an unsuccessful search through the other car.

The startled monk was seen looking on nervously as the elephant used its massive trunk to rummage through the truck - picking up bags of pumpkin, bananas and guava fruit they had just bought from the market.

Moments later the male elephant, believed to be in its 30s, trudged away looking for its next meal. The driver, Tongchai Kaewsri, is heard in the clip saying: "Just tell them to stay still - the elephant is taking the fruit. Take the fruit out of the plastic bag to give him. He’s so big. Has he finished? Can we go now?'

Speaking after, Tongchai said that they had been travelling home from another province and were taking the fruit as an offering to to their local temple.

He commented: "The elephant was blocking the road so we had to stop. I was hoping he wouldn’t come over to us but he did. There were two or three bags in the truck which the elephant noticed.

"I just wanted the two in the back to stay still and not scare him. The monk’s face was funny. He looked very scared."