Kids are using a drought-hit river as a football pitch.<br /><br />The Yom river in Phichit province, northern Thailand, was once gushing with mountain water but the region has suffered severed a dry spell over the last year.<br /><br />Footage shows how youngsters are walking along the river bed and even using the land to have a kick-about.<br /><br />They use jumpers for goal posts and run along the silty ground in their bare feet.<br /><br />The river used to be one of the main water sources for nearby villages especially in farm irrigation.<br /><br />One of the farmers Wisit Panyaem, 40, said he was not able to plant a single rice stalk since the drought hit their place in November last year.<br /><br />He said: "It is almost a year since my last cultivation which is the longest period I have ever faced. This is becoming so stressful because I lost all income during this period."<br /><br />The provincial agricultural officer Weerachai Khemwong said that the farmers are now desperately in need of government assistance.<br /><br />He said: "This year we could only cultivate one fourth of the country's arable land which is a record low.<br /><br />"Most of the farmers here need the water from the river and have been waiting for it to be filled. There has been a little bit of rain but not enough for the river to start flowing again.<br /><br />"Some of the farmers had to use the ground water from wells but not every farmer has access to those so they are in desperate need of government intervention."<br /><br />Large parts of Thailand have suffered crippling droughts over the last two years due to reduced rainfall across the region.
