This is the moment a large rat crawls across a dozing shop owner’s bare barely causing him to wake up with a jolt.

The incident took place in the city of Guangzhou in the province of Guangdong, which is located on China’s southern coast, on 26th September, when the store owner, who has not been named, decided to take a nap.

After dozing off, a large rodent clambered onto his tummy and groin area while he slept on the floor, prompting him to wake up.

In the video, the man, still apparently half asleep, moves his hand towards the disturbance in an attempt to lazily shoo whatever it is away.

However, he suddenly bolts upright when he smells a rat.

The man gets the rat off him and it scurries away out of shot as he looks on in shock.

The store owner has not been named but by the looks of it he operates a fabrics shop, which would surely provide prime nesting material for a family of rodents.

It is unclear if pest control were called in to deal with the situation.