This is the bizarre moment a tricycle parked on the street suddenly started and drove itself into a canal, narrowly missing a man who was picking up litter near the bank.

The peculiar incident - which took place - spooked many locals as it occurred during the celebration of the Ghost Festival in Zhoushan, in eastern China's Zhejiang Province.

The Ghost Festival is a traditional Chinese event dedicated to honouring deceased ancestors and appeasing wandering spirits every year during the seventh lunar month.

CCTV footage captured at around 9:40am on August 30 shows the unmanned trike suddenly 'coming to life' and travelling down towards the river.

The vehicle narrowly missed colliding with the man, who was cleaning nearby, leaving him in a state of shock.

He was then seen looking around the empty street in confusion, trying to grasp what happened. Luckily, there were no injuries and the trike was later retrieved from the water, local media reported.