A lorry driver was stunned after spotting a wallaby going walkabout in a Lancashire village as the UK sizzled in record temperatures. Marcio Castanho, 38, said he 'felt like he was in the outback' when he spotted the marsupial, which is native to Australia.
The dad then stopped his 18-tonne truck to watch the wallaby as it nimbly hopped down the road, in Hesketh Bank, between Preston and Southport. The wallaby stopped to look at Marcio outside a garden gate in the village and then hopped off down the road.
Marcio said that although the weather had been "as hot as Australia", he was surprised to see the exotic furry creature in Britain.
He said: “I was driving down the road, and then I spotted the wallaby. I just stopped the lorry and got out. It was really quite bizarre.
“It was really quite hot. It was like Australian heat. I felt like I was in the outback, with the wallaby and the warm weather.
“I’m not originally from here, and I thought there weren't any wallabies in England. It was quite an experience.”
The Wallaby was later revealed to have come from a nearby petting Zoo, Animal Party North West, in Preston, Lancs.
Owner Joe Hilton wrote on Facebook: “Just been down to the wallabies and very relieved to say that all the wallabies are accounted for! We believe they were getting out under the fencing which has now been rectified.
“I’d like to thank everyone for their concern today and apologise for any inconvenience or stress it may have caused.”
