You're in the middle of a busy intersection and you spot an elderly man struggling to cross before the light changes.

He's wobbling on his two walking sticks and gets left behind by his fellow pedestrians as cars and cyclists whizz past.

What do you do?

If you were like this Chinese police officer, you'd swoop in to save the day.

In CCTV posted to social media, the traffic policeman quickly jumps into action and approaches the man.

With dozens of vehicles backed up, the officer has a brief conversation before hoisting the elderly man onto his back and piggybacking him to safety.

According to Mianyang Traffic Police, while the vehicles waiting for the man did not beep their horns, the officer decided to help speed up the process.

The police described it as a "heart-warming scene".