Porcupine on the loose after evading Suffolk Police

A porcupine (similar to this one pictured) was spotted by police driving through the village of Clare, near Haverhill, in the early hours of the morning

A sighting of a porcupine on the loose has sparked a police appeal to find the animal.

Officers spotted the quilled rodent - which originates from South America - while driving through Clare in Suffolk at about 01:30 BST.

They pulled over on the B1063 and tried to catch it, but it escaped and disappeared into a garden.

Police have urged anyone who spots the creature to contact a local vet or the RSPCA.

Porcupines are found in America, Africa, Asia and parts of Europe.

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While their name in Latin means "quill pig", they are from the rodent family.

When threatened, the animals are known for raising their quills which can easily detach and injure predators.

It is not the first time the non-native animal has been seen in East Anglia.

There were newspaper reports of a trio being spotted between Bury St Edmunds and Clare in September 2021.

A month earlier, a fire crew in Harston, Cambridgeshire, did a "double take" when they spotted a porcupine squeezing itself under a gate in the early hours.