A nine-year-old boy has been hailed a hero after saving his four-year-old cousin from a stampede of cattle by shielding him with his own body.

The dramatic incident occurred in the rural village of Coruripe da Cal, near the town of Palmeira dos Indios in Alagoas, Brazil, on 11th May.

Nine-year-old Matheus Lopes Barbosa was captured on video sprinting towards his younger cousin Gabriel, who had wandered into the path of a herd of cattle charging down a dirt road.

Without hesitation, Matheus grabbed the boy and threw himself over him just seconds before the animals thundered past.

The footage, shared by Matheus' mother, Delaine Lopes, shows the boy's quick-thinking actions that prevented a potential tragedy.

Both children escaped unharmed.

Matheus said: "I was going to close the gate. Then I saw him [Gabriel] running.

"I turned around and went there to save him. He's my little cousin, I didn't want him to die."

His mother later explained: "We live in a rural area, and it’s common for the herd to pass through. Every Sunday, after midday, the cattle return from the livestock market that takes place there, but they're tame, very calm.

"But yesterday [Sunday], the animals came running, they might have been startled by something."