Call 999 . . there is an ostrich on the loose

A tweet by North Yorkshire Police road policing sergeant Paul Cording this morning said; “Standard call to North Yorks Police: Reports of an Ostrich near to Fewston on the A59.”

He added that a colleague “had got his head out of the sand and is en route.”

Reports of the loose bird by the roadside came in at about 9.15am today.

Traffic Constable David Minto found the bird - which was actually an emu - shortly after and it has now been returned to its owner.

The drama unfolded on social media as the police officer tweeted from the scene.

In a series of tweets he posted: “We have located the owner of the emu Thank you for all your help. Now it’s the difficult task of getting the animal returned.”

“The owner is on scene and confirms it is a female emu. The owner is going to tempt the bird onto a trailer by the means of food...”

And then moments later: “And we have one emu in custody. I can confirm she is none the worse for her adventure.”