Mum shares heartbreaking moment with baby snatched from trolley by supermarket worker

A baby girl was almost lost forever when she was abducted by an opportunistic kidnapper in South Africa as her mother browsed the shelves - the moment filmed by CCTV shows the petrifying moment the child was nearly abducted

A staff member walked past, then suddenly reached out and pulled the baby from the cart (

Image: Newsflash)

In a horrifying scene, a baby is snatched from a shopping cart by a kidnapper who is then spotted by the mother seconds before he disappears down a busy alley.

The mother was left 'frozen and confused' after the terrifying ordeal and Spar, where the incident took place, has now confirmed the perpetrator has been arrested by police.

The jaw-dropping footage was filmed at the Meyersdal SuperSpar in Gauteng, South Africa, while the mother was in the meat aisle on Monday August 22.

The anonymous mother was looking at the items on offer when a member of staff walked past them before they suddenly bent down and grabbed the baby from the trolley.

The staff member, holding the little girl in his arms, then fled with her down the aisle.

Just before he disappeared, the mother turned around and realized that her baby was missing.

She quickly spotted the man rushing over with the baby and called the man.

CCTV footage shows the abduction taking place around 1:30 p.m. local time (

Picture:

news flash)

After the images were shared, the unnamed but 43-year-old employee was identified.

He admitted to taking the little girl but insisted he meant no harm by taking her away when her mother wasn't looking.

CCTV footage shows the abduction taking place around 1:30 p.m. local time.

In a since-deleted post, the mum wrote, "I look up and she's gone. I immediately look for her and find her in this man's arms.

"I am able to grab him and tell him, what is he doing with my daughter? Why did he have it?"