Weasel hitching a ride on the back of a woodpecker

The stunning photograph shows the tiny brown animal clinging to the back of the green woodpecker as it takes flight across Hornchurch Country Park in east London.

Although all appears rather amicable in the incredible image, amateur photographer Martin Le-May said the small mammal had actually pounced on the bird as its next victim. 

Mr Le-May, a project manager from Essex, managed to capture the action photo during a walk with his wife Ann yesterday.

He later posted the photograph on Twitter with the caption: 'Took this picture earlier today. Heard woodpecker in distress, then flew up with weasel on back.' 

The image has now gone viral online after thousands of users shared the 'one-in-a-million' snap on social media. 

The 52-year-old, who enjoys photography as a hobby, told MailOnline: 'We decided we fancied popping out yesterday afternoon and my wife has never seen a green woodpecker in the wild before and I knew of this place so we just went there for a walk.

'We had been there for about 20 minutes, and had seen some other birds, when we heard this sort of distressed squawking.

'Out of the bushes flew a woodpecker so I said to my wife: "There's a green woodpecker".

'It flew in front of us and we could see it through the trees. It was hopping around on the ground acting very, very strangely and still making this squawking noise. 

(dailymail.co.uk)