A cheeky squirrel was caught on video after it hopped on a train and took a seat next to passengers.

The little squirrel boarded the train just before the doors closed after spotting some food on the floor.

It had jumped on at Grays in Essex on Monday lunchtime and, after one stop, the squirrel left the train safely at Purfleet and went about its day.

A woman called Kim from London recorded the footage, shocked to see the animal on her commute.

She said: “My initial thought was that it was a huge rat, but I soon realised it was a cute squirrel.

“Never seen anything like that on a train before. Poor thing was running up and down the carriage, on the chairs, clambering up the windows.

“I was worried that it might be a female squirrel with babies left in Grays but fortunately it was the wrong time of year.”

As the squirrel was getting off the train 28-year-old Kim, who runs a YouTube channel called Thetravellingsurrogate, ensured it could get out safely.

She added: “I made sure people waiting to get on stood to the side. One bloke looked terrified as the squirrel flew past him.”