A MAN sickeningly grabbed a nine-year-old girl and dragged her into bushes - but was scared away by the screams of a bystander.

       The child was walking down a quiet street before the suspect violently snatched her with his arm tight around her neck in the town of Solnechnogorsk, Russia.

       3

       The man horrifically crept up on the youngster before dragging her into bushes 3

       He was spooked by a local woman who saw the child being taken and screamed 3

       The nine-year-old was left with bruises after he viciously strangled her with his arm

       She said he then chillingly whispered in her ear: "Do you want to live?" as he held her in a chokehold.

       A local woman witnessed the horrific incident and began screaming as loud as she could - unnerving the man, who let the girl go and fled the area, according to reports.

       The youngster was left with bruises on her face and around her neck.

       She told cops she was hit in the face by the unidentified man who seized hold of her in broad daylight.

       Local authorities launched an investigation and arrested the suspect shortly after the incident.

       The investigation remains ongoing. It is not clear what charge the prosecutor intends to bring against the man.

       Most read in The Sun

       PM'S GRIEF Boris Johnson's mum dies 'suddenly and peacefully' in hospital aged 79

       RAGE ROVER Moment stolen Range Rover rams BMW with 2 kids inside and smashes 12 parked cars

       LISA UNLEASHED Angry Lisa Armstrong lashes out at ex Ant McPartlin's team after NTAs win

       FULL-TIME WIFE If more women looked after their men like I do they wouldn't get divorced

       Pictured

       MAMA MIA Ronaldo, Georgina Rodriguez and his mum eat at Italian chain after Man Utd return

       ROAD SAGE Drivers face ￡1k fine if caught breaking new road rule - don’t get caught out

       Footage of the terrifying moment was shared across the country in the wake of a series of high-profile cases involving children.

       Earlier this month, one man killed his best friend and buried him in the woods after finding out he raped his nine-year-old daughter.

       Two children were also allegedly raped and killed by a convicted child sex attacker who was seen just moments earlier buying treats for them.

       Back in August, two teenagers aged 19 and 15 were jailed for the rape and murder of a 12-year-old girl who was found at the bottom of a well in the Siberian town of Nizhnyaya Koya.

       The string of deeply disturbing cases has led to calls for an immediate end to a decades-old moratorium on use of the death penalty in Russia.

       Deputy speaker of the Russian parliament Mikhail Yemelyanov said: "We believe that paedophile murderers and terrorists should face the death penalty."

       He said Russia should ignore a ban on the death penalty imposed by the Council of Europe, adding: "Such scoundrels must be executed. We will insist on this."

       He's aiming to have a vote after Russia's legislative elections on September 19.