A turtle being eaten alive by leeches was rescued by and nursed back to health by a kind passer-by in Thailand.

The struggling reptile was found by the woman in the middle of a road in Chanthaburi province on October 30.

She feared that it would be run over by oncoming cars, and decided to take it home. But when she examined the animal closer, she found that a bunch of leeches had latched onto it to suck on its blood.

Footage shows the compassionate local plucking the parasites off with tweezers and applying disinfectant on the turtle's body.

She kept the turtle in a bucket at her home, and took care of it until it had recovered its strength. The turtle has been released back into nature.

Thailand, a largely Buddhist nation, believes that kindness towards animals should be encouraged, with temples sometimes being a safe refuge for stray cats, dogs, and even monkeys that don't have homes.