Video: 'Remarkable' moment motorist left stunned by wallaby hopping across UK road

A 'bemused' motorist has captured footage of a wallaby bouncing along a main road in Devon - which has been described by an expert as 'remarkable'. The driver, who does not wish to be named, pulled over near Crediton after the marsupial appeared at the side of a main road.

She told documentary filmmaker and wildlife researcher, Tim Whittard, that she 'had never expected to see a wallaby casually hopping down the road, and thought it was a baby kangaroo at first'.

Mr Whittard, who investigates reports of out-of-place animals, described the sighting as 'remarkable'. “I’m not at all surprised by the sighting though, the presence of red-necked wallabies in the UK has been quite well reported on in recent years, and it is clear we have a small breeding population of them here in Britain.”

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Usually native to Tasmania, the red-necked wallabies in Britain are believed to have escaped from private collections, although may have been deliberately released. Their coat is grey/brown in colour, and as their named suggests, they have red fur around their shoulders and neck. They are very similar in appearance to kangaroos but are much smaller in size.

Tim added: “They are said to be solitary animals, and can be crepuscular or nocturnal, so are likely to be more active at dawn and dusk, or during the night, which explains why the animal was seen after dark.”