This is the astonishing moment a rat single-handedly took on two magpies after it was attacked.
Resident Sharon Dring, 65, filmed the dramatic fight between the rodent and the large birds unfolding outside her home on November 11.
The brown rat was filmed leaping through the air and bearing its teeth as the bigger birds swooped down.
Flapping their wings and hopping backwards, the magpies continued to surround and peck at the rodent.
The gran-of-two Sharon said the rat put up the "fight for its life" as it lunged at both its enemies which then took off to avoid a nasty bite.
Miraculously, the rat came out on top when the birds gave up and flew away from the scene in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire.
Rats and magpies are known to target each other's offspring as prey so may have challenged each other because they had young nearby.
Sharon said she was alerted to the tense stand-off by her husband.
Married mum-of-two Sharon, a local government worker, said: "My husband had popped home from work on his lunch break and he said ‘come outside and see this’.
“I walked outside and saw a magpie and a rat fighting on the street. I couldn’t believe it.
“I have never seen a rat and magpies fighting. I questioned whether I was seeing things.
“So I videoed it and another magpie joined in the fight.
“They were going at it for ages and not bothering about where they were.
"I couldn’t believe what I was seeing in the middle of a residential area.
"They were pecking at him and then the rat was turning around and lunging at both of them.
"The rat was determined to put up a fight for its life. If they kept pecking at it, they would have killed it but it was a very brave rat.
“They must have been fighting before my husband arrived back home for his lunch and were going at it for a fair few minutes.
“They stopped fighting when someone came out of their house. The magpies gave up and flew away and the rat ran off.
“It had a very lucky escape. It was outnumbered by bigger prey and came out on top.
“I actually felt quite sorry for the rat, I don’t like rats but being ganged up by two magpies is not what you want.
“And they were really pecking at him as if they were trying to kill him.
“I’m glad he got away.
“I’ve never seen this before, we don't usually get rats around here, it was very unusual."
