This is the moment a mother twists her body in mid-fall to stop her baby being smashed into the ground.

The mum’s cat-like agility kicked in while she was walking outside her home in Changde, Hunan Province, southern China last week.

The young mum – named in local media as Ms Zhang – was carrying her baby when she missed a ramp and twisted around on her ankle.

But phone footage of the fall shows that as she tumbled to the ground she rolled in mid-air and shielded her baby from the impact.

The baby appears completely unhurt in the video.

Local media reported that the mother suffered minor injuries to her arms and legs.