This is the brazen moment when a woman ransacks a bus driver’s rucksack behind his back while he has his eyes on the road ahead.

A CCTV security camera caught the woman in the act on the public bus as it drove through the Greater Sao Luis Metropolitan Region in Brazil.

The footage shows how the thief spotted the backpack hanging up on the screen between the driver and his passengers.

Then, as she checks to see if anyone is watching, she dips in through an open pocket and removes what looks like his wallet.

Then – just inches away from her victim – she takes a white plastic bag and then decides to steal the whole rucksack.

As she stuffs it into her own bulging tote bag, the thief – in a halternecked minidress and trainers – gets off.

The shameless theft reportedly took place on 19th July but video footage of the stunt only emerged on 9th August.

Ratrans – the transport company that runs the bus route – did not reveal which stop the woman got off at or which route the theft took place on.

But it said it was working with police to find the suspect.