This is the heart-stopping moment a bus hit a mother and nearly ran over her daughter.

The young woman, 27, was walking in the middle of a narrow road to avoid a pothole while taking a stroll with her daughter, 2, in Brazil on January 7.

However, she was struck by a Uniao Transportes bus as it turned off the main highway into the side street.

Dramatic CCTV footage shows the pedestrian slipping on the wet asphalt as she was shunted by the vehicle. She fell to the ground and avoided going under the vehicle.

Her daughter's pushchair toppled over and was sent skidding along the road, with the bus tyres missing the toddler's head by mere inches.

The bus driver and conductor were later seen stepping out of the bus to apologise following the crash in the Varzea Grande municipality of Mato Grosso state.

The near-miss accident happened on January 7 but only came to light last week after the woman's father reported the incident.

He said: 'They are both psychologically shaken. My granddaughter gets scared when she sees a car. I was scared too, I could have lost both my daughter and granddaughter. Every time I watch the video, I cry.'

The bus company has apologised and said the bus driver will undergo defensive driving lessons.

A repair team was also sent to the area to repair the pothole on the road, the local government said.