This is the amusing moment of wild elephant sparked panic after stomping into a holiday resort to scratch its bottom on a tree.

Footage shows the large jumbo walk in front of the wooden villas at the resort in the Pak Chong district of Nakhon Ratchasima northeastern Thailand on Monday (July 15).

Onlookers ran for cover - keeping watch from a safe distance in case the pachyderm charged or knocked over bins looking for food.

But the itchy Asian elephant was simply looking for a suitable place to scratch its sizeable rear-end.

The beast was filmed rubbing its large hind against one tree before moving onto another - which wobbled as the elephant leaned against it.

Onlooker Jatuporn Roongarn said: ''Elephants sometimes wander out of the jungle and they can be curious or looking for food. But this one had an itchy bottom. Perhaps it's skin needed scratching and it was uncomfortable.

''We went far enough away to watch from a safe distance. He was harmless and walked away again quickly.''