Escaped pet skunk Wiggy 'taking a holiday' in Essex

Wiggy has a penchant for chicken drumsticks, his owner said

The hunt is on for a pet skunk on the run which chewed its way out of its enclosure and went off on a bit of a holiday.

Owner Kim Shelley said Wiggy went missing in Witham, in Essex, on Wednesday.

She described Wiggy as "a bit of a character... who loves a cuddle" and had never emitted a pungent smell.

Ms Shelley was currently following leads after an apparent sighting of her pet at some nearby allotments.

Wiggy is about a year old and has been one of the family's pets at their Teak Walk home since June.

She described him as "like a bull in a china shop - once he gets moving, nothing's going to stop him".

Wiggy loves a cuddle - and a walk

However, she said he was "a very friendly skunk who loves a cuddle and his favourite food is chicken drumsticks".

Ms Shelley said Wiggy had "pretty much a free run of the family home and garden but he decided that wasn't enough - he wanted to go on a holiday".

Wiggy is put to bed in an enclosure in the garden shed at night, but when his owner came to see him on Wednesday morning she found he had made his escape.

"He'd chewed a big hole through the mesh and then either found a hole in the garden fence or climbed up and over," she said.

And so the hunt is on for wayward Wiggy.

'Not prone to spraying'

Ms Shelley, who has three other skunks, hoped the power of social media would help find her missing pet.

She said she would take some chicken legs to the nearby allotments when she finished work and see if that would tempt him back.

She was also keen to stress that although skunks were famed for their defensive odour Wiggy was "not prone to spraying".

Earlier this week another missing pet skunk was found relaxing under a car after four days on the run in Dorset.

Seven-year-old Sky, who is deaf, was reunited her owner after she was coaxed out with a piece of chicken.

It is legal to keep skunks as pets in the UK, however, it is illegal to have the scent glands removed, the British Pest Control Association said.