According to 9NEWS, the unnamed woman, who lives in Poulsbo, Washington, has been feeding raccoons in the neighbourhood for around 35 years.

She insisted that the wild animals had never before posed a problem, but the population had suddenly exploded and they had begun to surround her home.

Police spokesperson Kevin McCarty said: “Somehow the word got out in raccoon land and they all showed up to her house expecting a meal.”

Officers responding to her distress call “had never seen that many raccoons in one place”, he added.

“Nobody ever remembers being surrounded by a swarm of raccoons. This was a first.”

However, he said: “At this point, it’s been determined that the raccoons haven’t committed any crimes.”

The woman was instead referred to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.