This dramatic video shows the moment a brave teacher saved a young schoolboy when he was choking on a pen cap in the middle of class.

The pupil was reportedly solving a maths problem at his desk when he suddenly swallowed the pen cap at the Paijun Primary School, located in Zunyi, in Guizhou Province, south-western China,

Surveillance camera footage shows the boy, sitting in the front of the classroom, raising his hand in an attempt to get his teacher's attention at around 9:47 am on December 4.

His classmates watched in confusion as he then slammed his hand against his desk and pointed at his throat to signal that he was choking on something.

The female teacher, identified as Liu Xianghong, then rushed to his seat and sprang into action, performing the Heimlich manoeuvre until he spit out the cap.

Liu was praised by Communist officials at the Zunyi City Huichuan People's Government.

The hero teacher said: 'I was teaching a maths class at the time. It was a quiet morning, when I suddenly heard the sound of a child knocking on the table.

'I later found that there seemed to be something stuck in the pupil's throat. His face was flushed, his eyes rolled back, and he couldn't speak, but just pointed to his throat.'

The boy, who is reported to be in stable condition, added: 'At the time, I accidentally swallowed the pen cap, and it was lodged in my throat.

'I was very anxious, but I couldn't speak, Mrs Liu saw me and quickly hugged me and helped shake the pen cap out.'

School's principal He Wenping said: 'Next, we will further enhance emergency knowledge promotion and education, to strengthen the emergency awareness of teachers and pupils in the face of emergencies and accidents.

'We will also help teachers and pupils learn basic first aid, and thus improve their self-rescue and general first aid knowledge.'

The Heimlich maneuver is a life-saving first-aid procedure used to dislodge a foreign object from someone's airway who is choking.

It involves applying sudden upward pressure to the abdomen to create an artificial cough, which can force the object out.