This is the heartwarming moment a kind-hearted woman saved a turtle from the dinner plate and released it back into a pond.

The creature was being sold to a Thai jungle food restaurant after it was caught by a villager in Nonthaburi, Thailand on September 27 afternoon. Panta Insee, who witnessed the catching, offered 1,200 baht (32 GBP) to the villager to buy the soft-shelled turtle.

Footage shows the moment Panta released the turtle back into marshland. Panta sad that she bought the turtle because she was upset at the thought of it becoming somebody's dinner.

She said: "I saw a villager catch the turtle from the canal, then I asked him what would he do with the turtle. I was shocked after he told me that he planned to sell it to the jungle food restaurant, so I offered him the price he would receive and released the turtle back to where it should be."