Video footage shows a child rescued from a floating human hamster ball after it drifted away down a river.

The incident took place in Wenzhou, in China’s Zhejiang province, which is located by the Oujiang River, on the coast of the East China Sea on January 12.

The human hamster ball, also known as a zorb ball, can be seen in the footage slowly drifting away.

But the brave rescuer takes off his clothes and enters the chilly winter water, swimming out to the young boy and reaching the floating see-through inflatable ball, pushing it towards the shore as the footage ends.

The man, named Wu Kewen, later told local media: ‘In moments of danger, anyone who can swim would go down to save him.’

Thanks to the timely rescue, the child was unharmed. The child’s parents expressed their gratitude to Wu Kewen and others who assisted.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.