Drivers startled as wallaby hops down major road near Horsham

The wandering wallaby was seen on the A281 near Mannings Heath – and led to one intrepid traveller stepping in to help. “I managed to keep with it for over a mile and stopped the traffic,” he said.

The Good Samaritan, 20, who has asked to be known only as Theo, was travelling with his grandad from Horsham to Cowfold when a fellow traveller flashed their lights.

"We stopped,” said Theo, and they said: “There’s a kangaroo in the road. I was thinking: ‘It’s going to get knocked down. I thought I had better get out to try to avoid a serious crash or the wallaby getting hurt itself.”

Other drivers slowed down as Theo ran into the road then kept up with the wallaby for around 40 minutes before finally managing to steer it into a farmer’s field. Police arrived on the scene shortly afterwards.

"There could have been a nasty accident. Someone could have swerved to miss it and hit a tree or the wallaby could have been knocked down. It would have been awful,” said Theo.

"I’m just happy I managed to keep it safe.”

He said he thought the wallaby must have been an escapee from nearby Leonardslee Gardens which have been home to a colony of wallabies for years.

But Leonardslee say all their wallabies have been accounted for. A spokesperson said: “We have been made aware that there was a wallaby discovered locally, but we don’t believe that it came from Leonardslee and it was not returned to us. We are of course very pleased that it is uninjured.

“The wallabies have been at Leonardslee for over 100 years and their safety and welfare is a priority. We carry out regular perimeter checks around the fences of our grounds and all are secured and no breaches were reported recently.

"All gates are kept firmly shut and our wallaby colonies are kept within the wallaby nursery enclosure and the deer park area – all of which are secure.

“There have been occasional sightings of wild wallabies in the area over the years – they may have escaped from the gardens at some point in the last 100 years or so, or from other private estates locally who also have wallabies.”

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Meanwhile, Theo has been hailed a hero on social media for saving the mischievous marsupial. People praised his actions in managing to keep with it for a mile and encouraging it into the field before police arrived.

“Just shows there are some nice people out there,” said one thankful person. Another said: “Well done, young man. Need more people like you.” And another: “What a star.”

Sussex Police have been contacted for comment.