Nitcharee Peneakchanasak: Amputee wins 'best job in Thailand'

A Thai woman who lost both her legs as a teenager has won a job in a hospital which will pay her one million baht (£23,000; $29,000) a month.

Nitcharee Peneakchanasak was announced on a TV talk show as winner of the competition named Best Job in Thailand.

She was chosen for the six-month "happiness observer" post from hundreds of applicants, the hospital says.

Supporters across Thailand had been rooting for the 21-year-old who lost her legs in a 2011 rail accident.

The World Medical Hospital in Bangkok which offered the job is only four years old and has attracted widespread attention with its unique job offer.

According to a hospital spokesman, Nitcharee or "Thun" was selected from more than 800 applicants who submitted video applications for the job.

"I think I won the competition because I was true to myself. I showed them that this is what I love doing. Plus, I had overcome the [accident], which was quite a unique experience," Nitcharee told the BBC's Thanyarat Doksone.

"I was very surprised because I thought I was quite young and inexperienced, compared to other candidates. But I'm very glad because I love talking to people and I want to talk to the patients. I dreamed of being a psychologist."

Nitcharee is currently studying journalism at Thammasat University in Bangkok.

Part of her duties will be to observe patients and talk to them to help the hospital administration find out more about their needs. She will also be asked to write inspiring stories on Facebook.

"We believe that doctors can only treat physical conditions of patients but we rarely know what's on their mind," the spokesman told the BBC. "If we know what they want and help them, they will recover more quickly from their illnesses.

"Thun has experienced a tragic event that had a huge impact on her but her mind is so strong. She went on to speak to others and became their inspiration to fight. We're proud to have her," he explained.

In 2011, the then teenage girl lost both her legs when she fell off an MRT platform in Singapore in front of an oncoming train.

Her story gained huge attention both in Singapore and Thailand at the time.