Wallaby caught in Lyme Regis town centre - Update

A wallaby, thought to be the same animal seen in a woman's Dorset garden earlier in the week, has been caught. Off-duty firefighter Virgil Turner rugby-tackled the marsupial to the ground in Lyme Regis town centre. Mr Turner said the wallaby, which has been taken to an animal park in Exminster, Devon, "kicked a bit".

The 45-year-old added: "My friend called me and he's a trickster so I thought it was a wind up. But I could hear he was serious. When I got there the wallaby was cornered by a couple of council workers and a local woman - but it could have got away still. It had already had a couple of near misses with cars and I didn't want a serious car accident on my hands.



"I must admit I was wary because I'd heard they can give quite a kick and can be very strong. But I used to play a bit of rugby so I just rugby tackled it - I grabbed its legs and tail and we managed to get a blanket over it which subdued it and then get it into a cage.

"I got a few scrapes and scratches from the concrete but the wallaby was fine - it was very calm really. It kicked a bit but totally calmed down when the blanket went on." Eyewitness John King, who praised Mr Turner, said: "The wallaby had already caused a few problems hopping across roads in the town. It was bizarre really - not something you see every day in Lyme Regis."

Previously.