A 'rare' eel with vivid golden skin has become a village lucky charm after it was caught by a farmer in Thailand.

The strange-looking creature amazed locals in the Khon Buri district of Nakhon Ratchasima after it appeared in villager Somphan Lueangkrathok's bamboo fish trap on October 9.

He had laid out the snare in a canal near his rice field, hoping to catch some crabs, but was surprised to find the unusual animal caught in the trap.

He took it home and showed it off to mesmerized family and neighbours, who claimed they had never seen such an eel before.

Somphan kept it in a water-filled bucket before deciding to release it back into nature.

He said: 'The eel might bring me incredibly good luck because it is so rare. My family and I freed it into the pond in front of our house.'