This is the heroic moment a quick-thinking son caught his mother when she fell through a ceiling.

The shopkeeper was using his smartphone when the roof above him gave way in the city of Fuzhou in Fujian, China, on October 10.

CCTV shows how he stayed calm through the cascading beams and extended his leg to break the fall of his 56-year-old mother who was crashing to the ground.

His quick reactions saved his mum from suffering a severe injury such as a broken hip.

The son said the ceiling had been in place for two years, but a wooden board had recently been removed, of which his mother was unaware.

Reacting instinctively, he acted to shield her.

He said: 'It's my mother. I'd risk my life to protect her.'

The loyal son said his mother was shaken but unhurt following the accident.