This is the heart-stopping moment when an excited young tot runs towards the path of a truck after spotting it in the street.

The youngster had been left by his mum as he played on his trike among some outdoor tables at a cafe in the city of Shenzhen, in the south-eastern Chinese province of Guangdong.

CCTV footage of the drama shows the lad riding through the tables until he spots a truck coming down the road.

Excitedly, he dumps the trike and runs as fast as he can towards the truck with his arms in the air.

But with amazing timing, the mother comes sprinting out of the cafe and pulls her son back from the kerbside.

Meanwhile, the sharp-eyed truck driver seems to have spotted the danger and slammed on his brakes.

The video was later posted on Douyin – the Chinese version of TikTok – where it sparked a debate among the netizens about the mother’s actions.

Some applauded her incredible reflexes, while others criticised her for not paying proper attention to her baby.

Netizen ‘Miss’ commented: “Such a small child cannot leave the sight of adults and be left alone in danger. What if he encounters human traffickers?”