Hunt launched for wallaby that escaped from a farm near Norwich

Where could she walla-be? Hunt is launched for runaway wallaby that escaped from a farm near Norwich as police warn the public to stay away

• Wallaby Sheila disappeared from a farm in Keswick, near Norwich, on Sunday

A hunt has been launched for a missing wallaby – although the public have been warned not to approach her because she may panic.

Gentle-natured Sheila disappeared from a farm in Keswick, near Norwich, on Sunday.

A number of sightings have been reported since then but she appears to have bounded away before anyone could be brought in to apprehend her.

‘Best not to catch her. Not because she’ll do anything to harm anybody but she’ll panic and may jump towards you or jump towards a car,’ owner Kerry Hood told the BBC.

She added: ‘We’re hunting high and low but because she’s a brown wallaby she’s quite hard to see.’

Gentle-natured wallaby Sheila (pictured) disappeared from a farm in Keswick, near Norwich, on Sunday

Sheila normally leads an idyllic existence with another wallaby, called Bruce, as well as pygmy goats and emus.

Ms Hood has not ruled out the possibility someone let her out because she has never escaped before and she suspects another animal had been ‘tampered with’.

One of the sightings was by a surprised roofer called Nicky, who contacted a local radio station to report seeing a wallaby in the Norfolk village.

‘I saw what I thought was a deer or a very large hare and then it stood up on its back legs and I thought ‘That looks like a kangaroo or a wallaby’,’ he said.

One of the sightings was by a surprised roofer called Nicky, who contacted a local radio station to report seeing a wallaby in the Norfolk village (file image)

‘It had a long tail – about 3ft long – and I was like ‘What have I just witnessed?’

Wallabies are small or medium-sized marsupials native to Australia and New Guinea which are from the same family as kangaroos.

They can grow to around 3ft tall with a long tail that helps them balance as they leap on their powerful legs or support then when they are stationary.

They can also deliver strong kicks with their legs for defence.

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