This is the moment a brave pet pooch rushes to defend a child who was suddenly attacked by a vicious street dog.

The incident took place in the city of Shaoyang, in south-central China’s Hunan province, on Saturday, 30th July.

The footage shows the young child, who has not been named, playing in the street when the stray dog suddenly lunges at him, knocking him over and savaging him.

Another dog, reportedly a pet owned by a Mr Zhou, observes the scene from the corner of the street a few feet away and immediately spurs into action, lunging at the street dog.

The other dog quickly runs away, leaving the child crying and being comforted by his family nearby.

Mr Zhou said that he had owned his pet for seven years and that the animal was “very spiritual”. He also said that the mad dog had bitten two other kids that day. Both children survived and were treated, with the killer dog reportedly being killed.

There have been no other details about the other incidents or about the circumstances of the killer dog’s death.