This is the chilling moment a two-year-old boy was kidnapped while his grandmother's back was turned for just a few seconds in a supermarket in South Africa this week.

CCTV footage shows a supermarket security guard plucking the unnamed boy from a shopping trolley while his grandmother is at the till at the The Crescent mall in Umhlanga, Durban.

When she realised the boy was gone, the grandmother ran outside and confronted the fleeing guard and retrieved her grandson.

He has now been charged with kidnapping and police say his motivations are 'unclear'.

A security guard at the Pick n Pay store in The Crescent mall in Durban, South Africa, kidnapped a two-year-old boy sitting in his grandmother's shopping trolley

The chilling footage shows a uniformed guard on patrol in the Pick n Pay store walking up to the 57-year-old woman's trolley.

Moments later, he gently lifts the blonde-haired boy and takes him into his arms, in the clip from December 22.

He is then seen walking out the front door cradling the the boy and leaving the shopping trolley empty.

The grandmother turns round and finds her grandson missing and screams that he has been stolen and frantically looks around.

She runs out the front door and spots the security guard walking into another shop with her grandson in his arms.

He approached the trolley while the grandmother was at the cashier, in the CCTV footage shared on December 22

He is lifted from the trolley just moments before the grandmother turned around to discover he was missing. The guard was spotted on CCTV and the police are appealing for parents and guardians to keep an eye on their children especially during the peak festive period

Seconds later, she walks back into the store holding onto her grandson.

She places him back into the trolley and mutters before putting her hands to her face and breaking down in tears.

Brigadier Jay Naicker of the South African Police said: 'When the petrified gran found the child was taken she began running and frantically screaming out for him.

Within a few seconds, the guard wandered out of the store and the grandmother turned to discover her little boy was missing. She then ran out the front door and spotted the security guard walking into another shop with her grandson in his arms

'She then spotted the man attired in a security guards uniform walking into one of the shops with her grandson and chased after him and yanked him from his arms.'

The grandmother reported the incident to Crescent Mall's management who contacted the police and immediately identified him as a supermarket guard.

The accused was arrested and charged with kidnapping, and is due to appear before magistrates today for allegedly trying to steal the young child.

The 57-year-old grandmother snatched the toddler from the man's arms before re-emerging in the store. She reported the incident to Crescent Mall's management who contacted the police and immediately identified him as a supermarket guard

South Africa's police are appealing for parents and guardians to keep an eye on their children especially during the peak festive period and to remain vigilant at all times.

They added: 'At this stage we do not know what the suspect’s intentions were. We wish to applaud the grandmother for taking immediate action and informing the police.'