Superstitious monks refused to knock down a decades old tree - so just built a new block of toilets around it.

The Banyan tree at the Wat Pho Bang Khla temple in Chachoengsao, Thailand, is believed to have started growing at the turn of the 20th century.

Monks needed to construct a new toilet block in the grounds of the religious site - but feared sawing down the tree.

They believed it would be ''bad karma'' according to the religious Buddhist teachings - so simply built the new restrooms around the tree and decorated it with good luck charms to protect it from unsavoury sights.

It resulted in the unusual construction of the building around the tree.

Visitor Thira Phengrat, who filmed the clip, said: ''It's very unusual. I think it's a good thing to look after trees in this manner. But I don't think every builder would have the patience to plan their design around trees.''