A kind Buddhist monk helped return a lost turtle to a pond in Thailand.

Prasert Thahan was walking back to the temple with the other monks when they passed by the terrapin crawling on the concrete path in Udon Thani province on December 20.

The orange-robed man approached the little creature and gently picked it up. It tried to run away from the strangers but he caught it again and released it back to the pond.

Footage shows the bare-foot monk Prasert holding the turtle and tossing it back into the water.

He said: ‘It was dangerous for the little turtle to wander along the road. It could be hit by passing cars.'

The turtle swam away further into the body of water while the monks returned to their journey.