These desperate hermit crabs were seen using plastic bottle tops for shells after rivals took all the available homes.

The creatures were spotted moving along the sand on the Ngai Island in Krabi province, southern Thailand last Saturday (September 21).

Locals were shocked to see them using the bottle tops as their homes.

The creatures normally clamber inside sea shells lying on the beach, but can mistake human trash for the natural items or resort to man-made alternatives when all the available shells have been snapped up by rival crabs.

Footage shows how dozens of other crabs on the beach at the same time had managed to find suitable sea shells - leaving only human trash behind.

The ecologist, who wished to remain anonymous, was disappointed to see the natural world evolving in a negative way.

He said: "These little hermit crabs did not seem aware that their shells were not natural material. The plastic bottle tops are not as good for them as real shells.

"It made me sad to see how plastics were mixing with the lives of the marine animals, particularly when so many living things have been killed by plastic pollution.''

The hermit crab is a species that cannot produce their own shell which is why they have to find seashell on the beach.

As hermit crabs grow, they require larger shells and often compete with other crabs on the beach for a suitable new shell.