Commonwealth Games organisers have raised eyebrows at the athletes' village in New Delhi - by hiring apes to work as guards.

Teams have been plagued by wild rhesus monkeys breaking into the buildings and stealing from athletes' rooms at the Indian games.

Now organisers have hired a team of 40 large grey langur monkeys to chase off their smaller cousins to keep the buildings safe.

"They will scare the smaller monkeys away because they are real pests and very destructive," one official told local media.

Meanwhile, a team of 50 traditional snake charmers has been hired after one athlete found a live cobra in his room.

"This is being done for the safety of those in the village," said senior Games official Lalit Bhanot.

Organisers revealed they have also hired an emergency team of cowboys in anticipation of a demonstration by a farmers' group which has threatened to drive hundreds of cows and buffaloes into the city.

"All this is to make the city hassle-free during the games," Bhanot said.