COPS have launched an urgent hunt for a crazed monkey after the Japanese macaque injured 18 people in a ten-day rampage.

The evil primate kicked off its mad frenzy earlier this month when it slid open a fly screen and clawed at a tiny baby in the city of Yamaguchi in Japan earlier this month.

The baby's mum told local TV: "I was vacuuming in the living room and heard the sound of my baby crying loudly.

"When I went in to check there was a monkey pulling the baby across the floor as if trying to make off with it."

She added: "It’s pretty scary that the monkey can open fly screens and just get into homes.

"I would like to see it caught as soon as possible."

Since then, the monkey has attacked at least five other people in the same neighbourhood, leaving its victims with scratches and bites on their necks and stomachs.

The beast even managed to make its way into a primary school on July 11 and scratched one of the pupils.

Three days later, the monkey crept into a nearby nursery through a toilet window and bit a sleeping four-year-old girl on the foot.

Other victims of the rampage included two elderly women.

One of them was attacked while she was hanging washing out on her balcony.

And early yesterday morning, the deranged monkey slid open another fly screen and launched an attack on a four-year-old girl.

In its latest assault today, the primate chomped on a woman's feet after ripping through the fly screen on her balcony.

Cops have now stepped up patrols for the animal - said to be 50cm tall - and urged residents to keep their windows shut, The Times reports.

There are estimated to be more than 100,000 wild Japanese macaques - and they are occasionally known to enter towns and cities.

In 2013, the city of Hyuga in Miyazaki reportedly paid £120 compensation to 18 victims after a macaque went on a similar wild rampage.

And a homeowner whose property was damaged during the hunt for the monkey was reportedly also awarded £1,800.

It comes after a troop of killer monkeys threw a four-month-old baby to his death after snatching him from his mother.

Dad Nirdesh Upadhyay, 25, had been on his three-story roof terrace with his wife and son at their home in  Bareilly, India when the animals took the tot.

Despite their efforts to drive them away, the animals surrounded the terrified trio and continued to taunt them.

Nirdesh made a desperate bid for freedom and ran towards the stairs with his four-month-old son - but he slipped through his hands.

The dad then immediately tried to scoop his newborn baby back into the safety of his arms as his mother watched on in horror.

But one of the monkeys beat them to it - and mercilessly launched the tot from the three-story roof.

The little boy tragically died, according to reports.

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