AN escaped emu was frogmarched back to its home after his great escape was thwarted by a family returning from a walk in the snow.

The emu, called Farage, lives in Church Street, Tollesbury, but made a break on Sunday to frolic in the snow with the rest of the residents.

Many families were out enjoying the seasonal weather and building snowmen when they were greeted by the surprising sight of the big bird gallivanting down the road.

He made his break shortly after 11am, running through the village streets before making his way into the church graveyard.

Farage was free for more than half an hour, before he was eventually caught and returned home by David Parker and his family.

David said: “We were returning from a dog walk and saw he was running loose.

“I see the emu most mornings on my dog walk and occasionally stroke him when he is feeling friendly. It was a bit of a shock seeing him running around in the snow.”

David and some friends decided they would try to wrangle the escaped emu, but it turned out to be a harder task than any of them were expecting.

David explained: “It took us about half an hour to round him up. He is a very fast runner. The snow didn’t exactly help with things either.

“Eventually we managed to get a hold of him. A couple of people have said I had him in a headlock but I wouldn’t go that far.

“We caught it, and I held it round the neck until the owner’s grandson arrived and frogmarched him back home.

“It wasn’t what I was expecting to find. It certainly isn’t an every day occurrence.”

Farage made it home safe and sound.

Emus are the world’s second biggest bird growing to be over one metre long and as natives of Australia are used to warmer climbs. They are notoriously tough birds which can run fast and be aggressive if provoked.