Massive rat filmed running around inside a Westfield food court

Shoppers have been left reeling after viewing footage of a massive rogue rat inside a popular Westfield shopping centre’s food court.

Shocking footage has surfaced showing an enormous rat scampering through the middle of a Westfield shopping centre.

The huge rodent was shown darting its way across the floor of the Parramatta shopping centre’s food court in video uploaded to Reddit on Monday.

The three-second clip showed the animal weaving beneath two rows of empty tables before disappearing behind a bench.

Footage sparked a strong reaction among viewers, many of which couldn’t believe the rat’s size.

The huge rodent scurried beneath the tables. Picture: Reddit

Viewers couldn’t believe how big it was. Picture: Reddit

“Not gonna lie. I thought that was a mongoose at first with a deformed tail,” one person wrote in response.

Someone else remarked, “that is a large rat”, while another described it “f***ing ‘UUUGEE”.

Others were shockingly not least bit surprised at what they saw, claiming to have bore witness to similar scenes in the past.

“Having seen behind the scenes at a few Westfields, this doesn’t surprise me at all,” one wrote.

“I’ve seen one at the same spot before too! Level 1 food court! Running towards the restricted entry/exit,” another said.

Someone who claimed they previously worked at the centre said the video offered a tiny glimpse into a much bigger problem.

Apparently its not the first time rodents have been spotted inside a shopping centre. Picture: Reddit

“Used to work in the centre sometimes past midnight. There were often whole packs of rats, some which were the size of small cats or dogs. Their screeching was terrifying at night to hear,” they wrote.

Some argued shoppers should expect to see at least some evidence of rodents in city shopping centres.

“You can find them pretty much everywhere in cities. Lots of hiding places available, plenty of food, not many predators except maybe your neighbour’s cat,” one said.

Someone else said they felt “sorry for it”, with another replying to say, “why? It clearly had a western Sydney buffet”.

The scene was enough to prompt a warning for shoppers to “tuck your pants into your socks”.

Westfield has been contacted by news.com.au for comment.