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A couple were astounded after investigating mysterious scratching noises emanating from within their walls. Maddie Neale and her fiancé Nemo initially dismissed the sound as it wasn't too often, but it quickly escalated into a persistent daily annoyance.

Eventually, the disturbance spread throughout the entire property. The couple don't share a home yet, with the scratching occurring at Nemo's accommodation where he lives with housemates.

Speaking to Newsweek, Maddie explained: "We had a theory that it was a bird or squirrel at first because of the scratching and the way we would hear it walk, but we were obviously wrong."

Determined to solve the mystery, the couple took action. Using an existing cavity in the wall from a previous repair job, they managed to insert a phone and employed the camera's torch to investigate the source of the commotion.

Video footage reveals the wall's internal framework and insulation material. In the recording, Maddie sweeps the camera towards the right-hand side of the wall's backing for a comprehensive view, before panning to the left.

On the left side, resting on the floor, the tiny nose and eyes of a small raccoon become visible, prompting Maddie to gasp in surprise.

Maddie uploaded the footage to TikTok, with overlaid text stating: "hearing something scratching the walls for months so we check". In the video's caption, she simply wrote: "Case closed bruh".

Within days, the TikTok clip had amassed over 24 million views, 2.4 million likes and almost 5,000 comments from social media users eager to weigh in.

One person quipped: "That raccoon was like 'thank god, I thought there was an animal in here'".

Another questioned: "But the insulation moved? Are there multiple raccoons?"

A third concurred: "this is what I went to the comments for because I'm pretty sure the first thing she was looking at was one??? it moooved!!"

A fourth suggested: "Maybe it's a mom raccoon, oftentimes they'll sneak themselves into attic spaces to give birth".

However, someone else disputed this and said: "I don't think the insulation moved, if you look closer I'm pretty sure it's the angle of her camera that makes it look like it moved when she stepped back."

Another TikTok user joked: "he's like nice to finally meet you I've heard you too".

Maddie told Newsweek: "We were obviously both shocked and had to show his other two roommates. It was funny for a little bit, but obviously more funny to me because I don't live there."

Despite the problem remaining unresolved - and the raccoon having raided Nemo's cupboard during his absence, helping itself to pistachios and cough drops - the tenants have chosen not to pursue the matter further.

Nemo has resorted to using duct tape to seal any gaps in his cupboards, but apart from that, they've decided to tolerate the noise. Nemo is set to graduate from university in May and plans to vacate the property at that time.