A road rage incident in which a motorist attacked an ambulance and blocked paramedics trying to save the life of an unconscious child has sent shock waves through Germany.

The 23-year-old motorist, who has not been named, flew into a rage after his car was blocked in by the ambulance in central Berlin.

Paramedics were trying to resucitate a ten-year-old boy who had collapsed while playing at a local school.

But the angry motorist blocked them from retrieving an oxygen mask and attacked the ambulance, tearing off one of its wing mirrors.

“P*** off! I’ve got to get to work” he said, according to one of the paramedics.

“I explained to him that we are trying to resucitate a child and cannot move the ambulance,” the paramedic told Bild newspaper. “But he took up a threatening posture in front of me, as if he was about to hit me.”

“I don’t care who is being resucitated,” the motorist said, according to the paramedic.

Police had to be called to restrain the motorist so paramedics could reach their equipment. The paramedics were able to save the child from immediate danger, but he is now in an induced coma in hospital while doctors battle to keep him alive.