A utilities company collects money from its customers with fishing nets to follow Covid-19 social distancing rules.

The water board in Ang Thong province, central Thailand, introduced the way for locals to pay their bill this week amid the worsening coronavirus pandemic.

Footage from Wednesday (March 25) morning shows the workers reaching across t he counter with their long fishing nets. The customer then drops their money in to pay their water bill and the woman lift it back to them to be places in the till.

Staff at the government office also arranged waiting room seats to be 3ft apart - another measure to reduce close bodily contact amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Provincial authority director Singchai Laomongkolsri said the water boar wanted to strop the spread of the disease.

He said: "We have strict measures inside the building which are all part of the efforts of containing the disease.

"We are following the government's rules and have added a little extra precaution by introducing the fishing nets.''

Thailand has declared 934 confirmed cases of the corona virus and four deaths since the outbreak.

Measures to contain the spread of the Ovid-19 pandemic has been introduced including a travel ban on tourists without lad tests, health certificates and insurance and the closure of thousands of businesses.

Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha said the country would be placed under a state of emergency from March 26.