A turtle was left in agony after it swallowed thousands of coins thrown into a pool for good luck.

The sea creature - nicknamed Bank - was found earlier this month with a broken shell and barely able to breathe as it floated around the filthy man-made pond at an abandoned park in Thailand.

Her shell was swollen, cracked and infected - causing vets to believe she had a tumour.

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The turtle, named Bank, is inspected by a vet. The animal was left in agony after swallowing thousands of coins in a filthy pond in Thailand

CT scans this week found a huge lump of metal lodged inside the reptile's stomach

But medics were stunned when CT scans this week revealed an enormous lump of metal measuring 20 x 23 x 20cm lodged inside the turtle's stomach.

They say Bank had spent several years swallowing hundreds of pennies that tourists had thrown for good luck into the water in the country's Chonburi province.

The 25-year-old turtle had built up a nest egg in her belly of around 2,000 Thai baht in coins, equivalent to around £45.

Associate Professor Nantarika Chansue at Chulalongkorn University said: 'Unfortunately the turtle was raised in a public enclosure where people like to throw in coins.

'Her sickness was very severe and the size of the collected coins was 20x23x20 cm.

Vets found around 2,000 Thai baht in Bank's stomach, causing her to become severely sick

The filthy pond in an abandoned park in Thailand's Chonburi province where the turtle lived

'We hope to operate on her after the overall health condition improves in a few weeks. We named her Bank.

'Please do not throw coins into ponds with animals in. It is a serious sin and very dangerous for the marine life.'

Prof Nantarika, who also works at the Veterinary Medical Aquatic Animal Research Centre, said the coins had caused swelling inside Bank's stomach.

Vets hope to operate on Bank in a few weeks when her overall health condition improves

When the turtle was found, her shell was infected and swollen leading vets to originally believe the reptile had a tumour

Vets have now warned people not to throw coins into ponds with animals in them

This was pressing against her shell which had cracked from the pressure and became infected.

She was suffering from a severe lung inflammation that had been preventing her from diving and was struggling to breathe and eat.

Vets believe that Bank would have been doomed if rescuers had not been alerted to her in time.

She will now have an operation to remove the coins in around two weeks - with the cash being kept as a warning not to throw coins into pools used by animals.

Prof Nantarika added: 'The weight of the coins was making her move very slowly. The pain was slowly torturing the poor creature.

'Members of the public have now been very generous in donating money the right way to help to cover the medical expenses to make Bank healthy again.'