Raccoon spotted hitching a ride on rubbish truck

This furry stowaway was spotted riding around on a rubbish truck in Washington DC on Friday.

The photo was taken by journalist Helena B. Evich, a reporter for Politico, who spoke to the driver of the American Disposal Services truck to let him know they'd picked up an extra passenger.

Police came to the driver's aid, helping catch the animal, which was then released into nearby Larry Graves Park.

“We can confirm the raccoon is unharmed and was removed safely for all,” a spokeswoman for American Disposal Services told the Washington Post.

Ms Evich's photo has been shared more than 7,000 times since she uploaded it to Twitter, turning the raccoon into an online celebrity.

Piggyback riders: Funny photos of lazy hitchhiking animals

Back in October another raccoon became a viral star thanks after a video emerged of it snatching the phone of a man who was trying to film it:

Guy Williams, from Elizabethtown, Kentucky, was worried he would never see his phone again after the raccoon ran away with it.

However, he got his friends to ring the phone, and the sound startled the animal which then dropped the phone, allowing Mr Williams to retrieve it.

Mr Williams wrote on Twitter: "Had to chase it for 5 minutes and I had named it Stanley like minutes before this happened so that's why I was yelling that."