This is the heartwarming moment kind cleaners rappelled down a drain to retrieve a lottery winner's ticket.

Authorities pried up the manhole cover after Sumalee Kumram, 54, accidentally dropped her winning lottery ticket and it blew into the gap in Buriram province, northeast Thailand, on May 4.

Footage shows an officer being lowered down the narrow, 3ft deep drain using a boom truck. He then reemerged holding the ticket, much to Sumalee's relief.

Police Sergeant Yutthajak Saengarun of the Bandan Police Station said he learned of Sumalee's predicament earlier, when he noticed the troubled woman pacing next to the drain while he was patrolling shops nearby.

He said: 'At the time, I didn't ask how much she won. I immediately called local officials because the drain was deep and machinery was needed. Luckily, the drain was dry because of the heat, so the tickets were retrieved intact.'

After redeeming the prize money worth 4,000 THB (87 GBP), Sumalee treated the staff to sodas as a thank you for helping her.

She said she bought lottery tickets regularly, but this was the first time she had won. However, she said the tickets slipped from her hand while she was walking toward the store.

Grateful Sumalee said: 'If the water in the drainage had washed the tickets away, I wouldn't have been able to eat or sleep knowing that my once-in-a-lifetime luck had suddenly disappeared.

'Even though the winning prize isn't much, it brought me great happiness to win the lottery for the first time.'