A loving boyfriend has been praised for his quick response as he used his body to shield his girlfriend when a massive amount of ice collapsed from the roof of a store as they passed by.

CCTV footage shows the moment the unsuspecting couple walked past a shop in Jixi, in Heilongjiang Province, northern China, on the afternoon of November 18.

Store clerks had reportedly tried to spare passerby injury as the front entrance had been cordoned off with tape where fallen snow had previously piled on.

But the pair who walked by holding hands nearly became victims to an even more dangerous collapse as giant blocks of ice came crashing down on the pavement.

Without thinking, the young man immediately pulled his girlfriend out of the way and stood over her to protect her from the falling ice.

The two held each other in a tight embrace at the edge of the pavement where they fortunately avoided being struck by the giant icicles by just inches.

After the incident, local authorities arranged cranes and personnel to the scene to clean up and inspect the remaining snow and ice.