Vets have removed 915 coins from the stomach of a green sea turtle in Thailand - thought to be as a result of tourists tossing money into a pool for good luck.

Bangkok specialists operated on the female turtle - nicknamed Bank - whose indigestible diet is thought to have accumulated in the pool over many years in the eastern town of Sri Racha.

Many Thais believe that throwing coins on turtles will bring longevity.

READ MORE: Glasgow University Feminist Society call for removal of Milo Yiannopoulos and Jordan Peterson from Glasgow University rector candidacy

The loose change eventually formed a heavy ball in Bank's stomach, weighing 5kg (11lbs). The weight cracked the turtle's ventral shell, causing a life-threatening infection.

Five surgeons from Chulalongkorn University's veterinary faculty removed the coins in a four-hour operation.

The 25-year-old creature's coin stash was too big to take out through the 4in incision vets initially made, so it had to be removed a few coins at a time. Many of them had corroded or partially dissolved.

Surgical team member Pasakorn Briksawan said: "The result is satisfactory. Now it's up to Bank, how much she can recover."

While recovering in Chulalongkorn University's animal hospital, the turtle will be on a liquid diet for the next two weeks.

Bank was brought to veterinarians by the navy, which found her ailing in her seaside hometown.

It was only after a detailed 3D scan that veterinarians pinpointed the weighty problem. As well as the coins, they also found two fish hooks, which were also removed.

Nantarika Chansue, head of Chulalongkorn University's veterinary medical aquatic animal research centre, said that when she discovered the cause of the turtle's agony, she was furious.

"I felt angry that humans, whether or not they meant to do it or if they did it without thinking, had caused harm to this turtle."

READ MORE: Glasgow University Feminist Society call for removal of Milo Yiannopoulos and Jordan Peterson from Glasgow University rector candidacy

Thai media began publicising the turtle's tale last month after she was found, and in response, some 15,000 baht (£347) in donations was raised from the public to pay for her surgery.

Typically, a green sea turtle has a lifespan of around 80 years. It is listed as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.