This is the hilarious moment a soldier with the heart of a boy racer attempts the equivalent of a handbrake turn while driving a huge tank.

The driver attempted the hair-raising stunt in a T-80 tank at an undisclosed military base in Russia while a pal filmed the action on a smartphone.

The footage shows the tank hurtling at speed around a corner into an open area where the driver puts it into a sideways slide on the wet concrete.

Sparks can be seen flying from the caterpillar tracks as they skid on the hard surface as the skilled tank driver performs a full 180-degree turn in the huge vehicle.

And he brings the T-80 to a halt facing the direction he came from as a watching colleague gives him the thumbs up.

The spectacular footage is proving popular online after being shared on video-sharing websites.

Marfushka commented online: 'Look at this fella, he has some real moves to show.'

This is the hilarious moment a soldier with the heart of a boy racer attempts the equivalent of a handbrake turn while driving a huge tank

The driver attempted the hair-raising stunt in a T-80 tank at an undisclosed military base in Russia while a pal filmed the action on a smartphone

Deni67 added: 'I wonder how the driver would feel if he actually wrecked the tank. Kinda have a feeling that all that fun would be over forever.'

The T-80 was the world's first main battle tank (MBT) to be driven by a powerful turbine engine when it entered service in 1976.

It is still in use in countries including Belarus, Cyprus, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, South Korea and Ukraine, as well as Russia.

The footage shows the tank hurtling at speed around a corner into an open area where the driver puts it into a sideways slide on the wet concrete