Mum yanks running child clear from speeding car on pedestrian crossing

Maternal instincts kicked in moments before tragedy struck for a woman crossing the road with her child in Poland.

Video of the potentially fatal incident was posted to the website Trojmiasto.tv last Friday and the footage will leave a sinking feeling in the pit of any parent’s stomach.

Security camera footage shows the mother and child walking hand in hand during the night at Zaspa, one of the quarters in the city of Gdańsk in Poland.

The pair walks out from a dark path onto a crossing, slightly obscured from an oncoming car by a line of stopped traffic.

The child sprints ahead, but the motorist fails to see and continues at speed towards the crossing.

The mother instinctively grabs the red-hooded child by the arm and yanks them back from the wheels of the approaching car, avoiding impact by a matter of centimetres.

Clearly shaken by the near-miss, the mother unleashes a furious tirade at the driver, who slammed on the brakes far too late to avoid a collision.