This is the hilarious moment a female sanitation worker tries to sweep a rat off the street after seemingly mistaking it for dead and then chases after it when she realises it is alive.

The peculiar scene was captured on the streets of Shenzhen, in eastern China’s Guangdong Province.

Phone footage shows the woman, dressed in the orange working uniform of a street cleaner, trying to sweep the large rat off the road.

Startled by the sudden stroke of the broom, the rat jumps up and sluggishly scurries towards a nearby shop.

The woman then begins chasing after it as it reaches the shop entrance but is met by its owner, who intervenes by stomping on the creature and knocks it out.

Seemingly unfazed, the woman quickly finishes the job and proceeds to pick up the large rodent while the owner laughs in apparent delight at having prevented the pest from getting inside his store.

The clip drew mixed reactions on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, with some users admiring the woman’s calm approach and others saying the rat was needlessly beaten to death.

One user titled ‘Fairy Buddha-figures’ commented: “The woman looks so cute while chasing it.”

Another user titled ‘Mark’ wrote: “Why hurt it, it just came out for a stroll.”

And user ‘lion king’ said: “The rat was simply a customer that went to a breakfast restaurant to eat. The merchant refused to serve and beat the customer.”