Goat-riding monkey raids farm

A Chinese farmer is claiming that a goat-riding monkey keeps sneaking onto his land to steal his vegetables.

Ye Shu, of Donguan, Guangdong Province, says the animals are owned by a neighbouring circus.

He claims the pair sneak into his field nearly every day, eat a lot of vegetables and damage many others.

"This has been going on for two weeks since the acrobatic troupe was first stationed here," he complained.

Ye says the clever monkey first stands on the goat's back to make sure the coast is clear before launching his raids.

"If the monkey sees that nobody is working in the field, he rides in on the goat and they start eating and causing trouble."

A circus spokesman admitted there was nobody to keep an eye on the animals after they had finished their part of the performance.

"We have compensated Ye Shu, and we are sorry for our neglect," said Wu Jun, the troupe leader.

Wu said he was now recruiting more animal keepers to prevent the pair from getting out of hand again.