This is the touching moment a cyclist rescues a disoriented turtle on a trail near Lake Elsinore in California.

The footage, captured on August 2, shows Sennen cycling with the turtle on his lap to take the animal to the lake moments after finding it in the middle of a trail.

After cycling for a few minutes, Sennen arrives at the lake and puts the turtle on the shore. The animal then desperately swims in the water and disappears in the distance.

The cyclist later wrote online: ''My mother and I were on a bike ride on some back roads near our house and on a trail I saw a peculiar rock and a trail of sand shuffled behind it, so I slammed on the brakes and turned around as I recognised it as a turtle.

''Next, we did a quick scan wondering where he came from, but there was no water in sight, so we got on the bikes and rode all the way to the lake as quickly as possible and returned him safely.''