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STREUTH!

Villagers say Oxfordshire town is being overrun by growing population of WALLABIES

The wallaby was seen jumping on the street before heading towards the grass

THINK of a wallaby and you will usually imagine the marsupial happily hopping through the Australian scrub.

What you don't think is that you will see them on a narrow, misty country lane in Britain - but one Oxfordshire driver has done just that.

 The wallaby was caught in the headlights of the shocked driver
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The wallaby was caught in the headlights of the shocked driverCredit: Caters News Agency
 The marsupial quickly jumped away after being sighted
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The marsupial quickly jumped away after being sightedCredit: Caters News Agency
 The sighting left locals shocked that the Australian marsupials were in the English town
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The sighting left locals shocked that the Australian marsupials were in the English townCredit: Caters News Agency

Brian Lockyer, from Didcot, was on his early morning drive into work in Tetsworth when a wallaby jumped out of the hedge ahead of him.

The 40-year-old immediately slowed down, waiting for the wallaby to get out of the way.

Then realising none of his friends or family would believe him, Lockyer grabbed his phone and started filming.

He said: "Its eyes looked straight into the headlights and it just stared at me.

"I drove by slowly but it just jumped along beside the car.

"People said it was really amazing."

The warehouse worker watched as the startled Australian creature then hopped down the country lane, turning back every so often to check on Brian.

The little wallaby then hopped off into a grassy area, leaving a shocked Brian to continue his drive to work.

Brian said he had heard an increasing number of wallabies had been spotted in Oxfordshire but neither he nor any of his friends had seen one.

He said: "I couldn't believe it when I saw it and I did't think my friends would either.

"I have been driving that same route for 20 years. I see a lot of wildlife but this is totally off the scale.

"It's all well and good spotting one but I had to take a video to have the evidence."

 The little wallaby remained calm after the car came up behind it
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The little wallaby remained calm after the car came up behind itCredit: Caters News Agency
 The animal rushed to the grassy area after being spotted by Brian Lockyer
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The animal rushed to the grassy area after being spotted by Brian LockyerCredit: Caters News Agency

Sharing his video on Facebook, Brian said everyone was amazed by the sighting.

The animals, native to the deserts of Australia, appear to now be thriving in the rolling hills and hedges of England.

But after researching the animals, Brian said he believed the wallaby population had ballooned out of control after being let out from Stoner Park, near Henley, two decades ago.

He said: "I was really intrigued and started looking into it. It turns out they were kept at a mansion house and then released about 20 years ago."

It seems Britain is trying its best to be like Australia - if only the next step was warmer weather.


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