This is the dramatic moment police raced to deliver a beating heart to a patient awaiting a transplant in Thailand.

Traffic police scrambled to transport the freshly harvested vital organ from the Don Mueang International Airport to the Siriraj Hospital in Bangkok some 20 miles away on January 3.

The beating heart had arrived at the airport on a Royal Thai Air Force plane from Udon Thani province and was delivered the rest of the way by ambulance.

Footage shows a convoy of motorcycle-riding cops escorting the ambulance carrying the life-saving organ. They arrived in just 16 minutes to hand over the heart to surgeons.

Police Colonel Jirakrit Jarunapat, deputy commander of the Traffic Division, said it was the 109th heart delivery facilitated by the traffic police.

He said: ‘This was another case where I must admit it was very risky. We drove at speeds of around 99to 106 mph (160 to 170 kph) after entering the tollway.

‘I had trouble with my glasses because the high speed made my eyes squint as the wind blew in my face. I thought it would be dangerous, so I left the motorcade to allow someone else to lead.

‘I slowed down and caught up with them at the Din Daeng Tollway. We spent 16 minutes to complete the delivery, which began from the Air Force 604 Squadron and ended at Siriraj Hospital.'