Story By:  Ana Marjanovic, Sub-Editor: Michael Leidig, Agency:  Newsflash

A man posing for dramatic snaps fled in terror when a giant lightning bolt struck the ground behind him.

The would-be model had apparently been posing for heroic photos in a storm in the city of Langfang, in Hebei province, in northern China, on Friday, 17th June.

But as the storm closed in, footage from the session shows him fleeing in horror as a giant lightning fork hits the ground behind him with a huge crack of thunder.

The man – named only as Mr Li by local media – covers his ears and runs to grab his camera shouting in fear and cowering at the storm.

The man reportedly said that he had wanted to film himself in front of lightning but he did not expect such a huge lightning bolt to hit so close.

He reportedly said that he could feel the ground quiver under his feet when the lightning bolt hit.

Mr Li luckily escaped unharmed.