This is the moment a dustman saves the day by grabbing a child just before he runs into the path of an oncoming car.

A home security camera captured the incident as it unfolded in the municipality of Rolandia in the southern Brazilian state of Parana on Saturday, 28th August.

The incident took place when Lucas Almeida, aged 5, opened his front gate to sneakily follow his grandfather to his capoeira school to bag himself a free class without his family’s knowledge.

He told news site G1: “I love capoeira, it’s my favourite thing, but it’s not on every day.”

The footage shows how a dustcart drives past at the time, with Lucas waiting for it to pass before crossing the road.

However, he fails to see a car approaching in the other direction at speed.

Dustman Kelvin Jonathan dos Santos did spot the vehicle, however, and he can be seen in the footage grabbing Lucas by his T-shirt and pulling him away to avoid him stepping into the vehicle’s path.

Fortunately, Lucas escaped with no injuries; just a stern telling-off from his parents.

Lucas’ dad, Bruno de Almeida, described Kelvin as an angel and told G1: “Every time I watch the video, I can’t stop feeling emotional.”

Kelvin himself said: “I told him three times ‘watch out for the car’. He didn’t listen, so I acted on impulse. God puts us in the right place at the right time.”