This is the shocking moment a small car almost crushes a woman sitting looking at her mobile beside the road shortly before it hits a tree after mounting the pavement.

The incident happened in the city of Baoshan in the Chinese province of Yunnan on 22nd March with the footage made public only now.

In the CCTV images, a woman can be seen sitting on a small chair under the tree on the pavement. As she is looking at her mobile phone, she probably hears a sound and glances up at the last moment to see a car is about to hit her.

The woman scrambles out of the way, potentially escaping a more serious accident, with the car first hitting a scooter and then the tree under which the woman had been sitting.

Luckily, although the woman fell to the ground, the car missed her as it hits the scooter and the tree, which causes it to stop dead.

According to the reports, an older man who had not been named was driving the car and apparently lost control as he was in hurry.

Local media report that the driver apologised to the woman and gave her compensation for her medical expenses.

The woman, who did not sustain life-threatening injuries, is still recovering. Neither the driver nor the woman have been named.

It is currently unclear if the authorities are investigating the incident.