A brave mum is attracting global attention after fighting off a wild raccoon that attacked her five-year-old daughter on their front doorstep.

In security camera footage that has gone viral after being shared to social media, Rylee McNamara can be seen standing outside her suburban Connecticut home last Friday, when the raccoon runs up and attacks her.

The raccoon launches itself at the young girl, sinking its claws into her leg. Rylee immediately begins screaming and tries to escape the animal, but can’t manage to get away.

“I was going out to get on the bus and a raccoon was there and tried to attack me,” she later told local news site WFSB.

“It was wrapping its arms around my leg. It really hurt.”

Her mother, Logan Kelsey McNamara, rushes out the door and grabs the raccoon by its neck. She is then seen desperately holding the animal at arm’s length while telling Rylee to, “Go inside and get help”.

The girl is ushered inside the house, and the raccoon turns its attention – and claws – to Ms McNamara. It takes a couple of attempts, but she eventually manages to fling it across the family’s garden with a strong underarm.

Ms McNamara follows her daughter inside, speedily closing the front door behind her. The raccoon, meanwhile, gets up and walks to the side of the house.

Inside, a distressed Rylee can be heard crying.

Ms McNamara later posted the video to Facebook, saying her daughter wanted her to “”show everyone what the raccoon did.”

“We are headed to get checked out for rabies following this unprovoked raccoon attack,” she wrote, adding of Rylee: “I can’t tell you how proud I am of this brave girl!!”

Ms McNamara told WFSB she initially thought Rylee had slammed her finger in the car door and was shocked when she saw the raccoon.

“I definitely wasn’t expecting to see a racoon wrapped around her leg. We just kind of panicked at first. I was more scared than anything,” she said.

Connecticut environmental authorities say raccoons are common across the state. Their population has expanded along with humans, as they now have easy access to food sources such as garbage, gardens and bird feeders.

-with agencies