VIDEO: Boy calmly walks away from pursuing brown bear

A heart-stopping clip of a young boy being followed by a brown bear in the Italian mountains has gone viral.

In the video, which was uploaded to social media on Sunday, the boy can be seen walking slowly down a hill as a large bear sniffs around behind him.

It continues to show an interest in the boy – who Italian media have reported is 10 years old – as he calmly walks back to his family.

A voi il mio incontro con @‘orso di sta mattina sopra la malga Sporminore... pic.twitter.com/VN6QmAV9oV

— Loris Calliari (@loriscalliari) May 24, 2020

The boy is instructed not to turn his back on the animal and to move away from it.

At one point, the bear stands on its hind legs and looks at the boy.

But the brave youngster soon got back to safety and continued on his way.

The video was recorded north of Trento.