This is the moment a hungry bear is caught red-handed by a wildlife officer after destroying a pickup truck after it locked itself in while sniffing out dog food.

The bear had let itself into the unlocked Ford F150 near the town of Evergreen, in the US state of Colorado, but triggered the central locking and could not get out.

Wildlife officers found it after it trashed the truck’s interior looking for food before then trying to get free.

Video footage of the moment shows an officer gingerly unlocking the door and stepping back in case the bear bursts out.

Then he approaches the truck and pulls open the door, jumping out of the way as the bear makes a break for freedom.

The bear can then be seen making a run for it before stopping briefly to look back, with the officer then shouting, causing it to take off into the woods as the footage ends.

Newsflash obtained a statement from the Colorado Parks and Wildlife dated 5th June saying: “Dog food + unlocked truck = bear trapped in your truck.”

They added: ” Good lesson to bring in food from your vehicles! Bears can smell it and learn how to open doors.”