Locals scramble to catch thousands of fish left in a canal after it was drained.

Officials dredged the waterway in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, on Sunday (December 15) afternoon for it to be replaced with new water.

However, many fish were left struggling after being caught in the thick mud.

Residents spent four hours scouring the canal to stuff the fish into sacks. Some took dozens of catfish, locally called Dook fish, back home for supper.

One of the locals who caught fish said he would take them back to his family to prepare a meal.

He said: "It was a treat to find thousands of fish in the city canal. All the fish I caught will be for the dinner."

There were other kinds of local fish such as Nile tilapia, bream, and snake-head fish.

Fishing in public canals is banned but those in the video said that as there was nobody there to enforce it, they could trudge through to catch the fish.

The drained waterway will be filled with clean water this week, which environmental workers hope will enhance the marine life.