This is the moment a small clam thwarts a crab's bid for freedom as one of its legs is trapped inside its shell that it can neither force open nor drag along as it escapes from a bowl.

Footage captured by resident Hua Xi shows the poor crustacean trying to escape her kitchen in Ningbo, in Zhejiang, China, before it gets turned into a meal.

Although it had managed to climb out of the water-filled bowl where it was kept alongside dozens of clams, one of its tiny legs was caught by the tip inside a closed shell.

In the video, it could be seen desperately trying to pull forward as the clam hung on the inner side of the plate on July 6.

Unable to get its tiny leg unstuck, it struggled to move anywhere as it seemingly could not drag the heavy clam along.