A woman washing her laundry in eastern China was saved from drowning after she fell in just inches from dry land.

Nail-biting footage of the drama shows the woman toppling into the water as she loses her balance on a set of submerged steps in the deep pond in the city of Taizhou, Zhejiang Province.

As she thrashes about in the water, a woman washing with her on 28th November tries to throw a towel towards her so she can catch it and haul herself out.

It is not until she disappears under the surface that a man – named in local media as Liu Daquan – runs to the steps and wades in lifting her out of the water.

Lui had been brushing his teeth when he heard shouts for help and came running.

As the video plays out, the woman can be seen sitting beside the pond recovering from her ordeal.

Her daughter later said that her mother was fine and thanked Lui for his quick thinking.

The video of the heroic rescue was shared on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok.

But user ‘Lin’ warned: “Put a long bamboo pole by the water for backup, just in case.”