Heart-stopping moment swimmer faces race for his life as alligator closes in

THIS is the dramatic moment a man was attacked by an alligator while swimming in a lake in Brazil - and SURVIVED.

The victim had decided to go for a swim in a popular tourist destination, the Lago do Amor in Campo Grande - ignoring warning signs that a lake was infested with the predators.

Willyan Caetano, who captured the incident on October 23, spotted the man entering the dangerous waters at around 4.40pm.

As the swimmer was within 30 yards of the shore, he saw the alligator moving rapidly across the water towards him.

He tried to swim back to shore as quickly as possible before the gator attacked him and bit his arm.