This is the heart-stopping moment when a restaurant customer holding a small bowl catches a falling food cabinet with one hand as it topples towards a two-year-old girl.

CCTV footage shows the child opening the tall unit's door and swinging on it, pulling the entire cabinet forward in Zaozhuang, Shandong, China.

As the storage unit crashes down, the man notices the danger and rushes to help despite holding a bottle in his left hand and gripping a bowl in his right.

The cheeky little girl's mum quickly runs over as the youngster clings to her parent's leg. Another customer also rushes to assist, helping to push the cabinet back upright.

Reports say the kindhearted rescuer suffered a cut to his arm and was taken to a clinic for treatment on September 8.

Her father, Mr Yuan, later said: 'Thank you for saving my daughter. If it weren't for you, I don't dare think what might have happened. Your arm was scratched, and I took you to disinfect and bandage it.

'You didn't give me your phone number when you left, and I was worried about your injury. Now I want to find you and give you a proper thank you.'