Wallaby sighted in Nottinghamshire village

Ben Thompson said he saw the animal while driving home from work

A wallaby has been spotted on the loose in Nottinghamshire.

The small marsupial - a native to Australia and the island of New Guinea - was seen by members of the public in and around Calverton last week.

One eyewitness said they spotted the animal while driving home from work.

Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust said any residents who spotted wallabies should contact them.

Ben Thompson posted an image of the wallaby to social media after spying it while driving down a country lane.

"There in front of me was a strange-looking animal," he said.

"At first it was quite a distance away, [and] I really doubted as to what I was seeing - I thought it was a muntjac deer, maybe even a badger, because we've got quite a few of those.

"Obviously as I got nearer it became apparent that, quite obviously, it was a little wallaby.

"As everybody does these days, I reached for my phone and started taking a few pictures, because I thought nobody's going to believe this story."

Residents who spot wallabies are advised to contact the National Biodiversity Network

Erin McDaid, from the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, said it was not the first time a strange sighting had been mentioned in the area.

He said it "could be a concern" if a number of animals were on the loose, and advised residents to contact them.

"We often get reports of things, and a really clear photograph is usually the piece of evidence that we need, because often there are misidentifications and misunderstandings," he said.

"They're a marsupial species from Australasia, so they're not a native species to the UK, but they have been in zoos and private collections for over 100 years, and there is quite a long history of them either escaping or being released into the British countryside.

"The shouldn't be there, but they have been in the past."