THIS is the bizarre moment a WALLABY is spotted hopping down a street in South Wales.

CCTV footage shows the cheeky marsupial taking a stroll down a residential road in Cadoxton, Neath in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

In the video, the wallaby can be seen hopping away from a police officer in a high-vis jacket.

The footage was captured by retired professor Duncan Lewis, who was woken up in the night after hearing a door slam outside his house and the sound of a police car driving off.

The next morning, he couldn't believe his eyes when he checked the CCTV footage.

He told ITV News: "Well it's not everyday you see a wallaby in Wales is it? I thought, it's a bit chilly to be out as a marsupial in Wales."

South Wales Police later confirmed they had captured a wallaby in the Cadoxton area of Neath, and later returned it to its owner.

'UNUSUAL'

The adorable creatures are usually found in eastern Australia and Tasmania, but there are populations in New Zealand, France and even the UK.

And it isn't the first time wallabies have been seen braving Britain's colder climate, after they have been spotted running wild in Oxfordshire and Essex in the last few years.

Animal charity RSPCA Cymru said it was "unusual" to see the animal in Wales, where there is no established population.

They said: "This is certainly unusual footage which seems to show a wallaby hopping down the road.

"There are some established populations of wallabies in the wild in the UK – but none are understood to exist in Wales."

But they added that it could even constitute an offence in Wales.

The spokesperson continued: "Releasing or allowing a wallaby to escape to the wild in Wales would constitute an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, as this would involve releasing a non-native species into the wild.

"However, we have no further information about the circumstances behind this CCTV footage."

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