The Indian authorities say they're giving up efforts to develop contacts with a reclusive tribe in the Andaman islands, in the Bay of Bengal.

The four-hundred people of the jungle-dwelling, Jarawa tribe live largely untouched by modern life.

Since the 1970s the authorities have been attempting to develop links with the group and draw them into wider society.

Food and gifts have been left for the tribe in the jungle.

But townspeople in the area now complain that tribesmen have begun causing trouble by damaging crops as they scavenge for food.

The authorities say they've decided to leave the Jarawas in isolation in an effort to dissuade them from visiting towns.