A mother driven by her maternal love ran barefoot for more than 10 minutes and rescued her two-year-old daughter from a mentally ill woman who tried to steal the toddler, local newspaper Strait News reported on Saturday.

The mother surnamed Luo holds her daughter Xiaowen in her arms around two hours after she chased down a mentally ill woman who tried to take Xiaowen away in Quanzhou, Fujian province, Thursday, July 30, 2015. [Photo/IC]

At around 8:50 am on Thursday, the woman, called Wang, entered a factory and took away Xiaowen (alias) when the girl was playing on the stairs on the second floor of a plant in a village in Quanzhzou, east China's Fujian province, the factory's video surveillance showed.

The mother surnamed Luo found Xiaowen missing five minutes later and tracked Wang down via video surveillance. She discovered her in a narrow alley and taking off her high-heels ran after the woman. Eventually she caught up with her and got her daughter back.

Still recovering from the fright, Luo said: "Although I have seen many movies on trafficked children, I now realize how terrible it is to lose a baby."

According to police, the kidnapper has a history of mental illness.