This is the moment a woman petrol station attendant sprays a dopey biker from a fire extinguisher to put out his lit cigarette.

The incident, which was caught on CCTV, took place in the city of Yueyang in South Central China’s Hunan Province.

The footage shows three attendants at the petrol station surrounding a stationary motorcyclist who had reportedly gone to fill up his tank.

One of the attendants, a woman, is then seen grabbing a fire extinguisher and threatening the man. But as he continues to puff on his cigarette, she then douses him with several blasts of extinguishing agent to make sure the lit stick is put out.

The clip divided netizens, with some saying the attendant’s actions were unnecessary and they should have just warned the man and called the police if he failed to stop smoking.

But others argued they did not go far enough, saying all three employees should have doused him from head to toe in the extinguishing agent.

Smoking at a petrol station is extremely dangerous, as petrol gives off vapours and is highly flammable.

However, others argue this is a myth, as they claim a lit cigarette is not hot enough to ignite the petrol or the fumes.

As well as smoking, it is not permitted to use a mobile phone on petrol station forecourts in China because of the risk of a spark igniting petrol fumes.

The Beijing Emergency Management Bureau issued rules banning the use of smartphones near fuel dispensers, due to apparent safety risks, in August last year.

Unlike with smoking, there is a consensus there is no hard evidence to suggest using a smartphone near a petrol pump can trigger an explosion.