A resident was seen panicking when he thought the lift was stuck - as a second set of doors quietly opened behind him.

The father entered the elevator from the left side and was waiting to exit the same way, next to the row of buttons.

But CCTV footage shows how he became increasingly uneasy as he reached the floor and the red doors did not open.

He seemed unaware that the exit was actually on the other side, and that the door had opened and closed several times without him knowing.

He was focused on pressing the emergency buttons, desperately calling building administrators for help at the apartment block in Guangxi, China.

A maintenance worker later explained to the man over the intercom to turn around.

The caretaker said: ‘He called me because he was trapped and could not get out. We all had a laugh after that.'