An elephant had an itch he just had to scratch: in a car enjoying a safari in South Africa.

The VW Polo and its two terrified occupants found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time when the giant elephant crouched down to rub against the vehicle’s roof and bonnet.

The incredible images were taken by Armand Grobler, 21, a field guide and lodge manager, in the Pilanesburg National Park in South Africa.

He told Barcroft: “I was doing ethology, the study of animal behaviour, at the time, so I had a basic understanding of what was going on.

“The elephant was presumably in musth, which is a time when a male elephant has an excessive amount of testosterone, turning even the calmest Dumbo into a raging bull.

“However, even though he was in this condition, he was showing no signs of aggression or frustration and was in a more playful mood.” Elephants frequently use logs, small trees and rocks to soothe an itch or eliminate parasites, but with the car so close, it was too good an opportunity for the animal to pass up.

Armand added: “We weren’t sure what to do in the situation where the elephant made contact with the car, and as the car was being crushed, we feared for the lives of the driver and passenger, but our efforts were very limited in terms of what could we do

“The general emotion that was inside our vehicle, as we watched in horror, was that we were full of adrenaline but terrified and helpless.

“The two passengers in the car, male and female, both in their 20s and 30s, were unharmed, just severely shaken. They were both in shock, but happy to be alive.

“The car was not so lucky. From what we could see and hear, all the windows were smashed, the roof was badly dented, and the entire top of the car was smashed.

“The four tires were blown out and the chassis broken”.

As for the elephant, after giving himself a good scratch, he continued on his way without an itch, oblivious to the destruction he had left behind.