This is the heartstopping moment a family of ducks crossed a motorway - coming inches from being squashed by an 18-wheel truck.

A mother duck and its six ducklings emerged from a nearby pond when the mother led the babies to cross the expressway in Samut Prakan, Thailand.

They were seen wandering along the roadside before crossing the busy road when the lorry approached.

Miraculously, the whole family avoided being run over and they carried on waddling along the tarmac oblivious to the brush with death.

The near miss was seen by rescue workers who were passing by the area when they noticed the ducks.

One of the rescuers, Apichai, said: "We were afraid that the ducklings would be crushed by the lorry. We were screaming on the other side of the road. Luckily they survived."

The mother duck and her babies seemed to start panicking as they were trapped between the high traffic island and the speeding vehicles.

After seeing that the ducks were alive, the rescue team switched on their emergency lights and stopped the speeding vehicles so they could reach the ducks.

They then carried the ducks using a plastic basket to the safety of the roadside. Unfortunately, the mother duck flew away when they reached the other side.

The ducklings have now adopted by one of the rescue team members who has a pond in her garden.

Apichai added: ''They would have had a hard time trying to get back across the road to a safe place.''