Wallaby killed on Cornish road

Officers were called to the A39 at St Columb just after 10 pm on Friday

Police say that following reports of an injured wallaby in the road, they attended the scene, only to find that the animal had been hit by a car and sadly died.

The animal was taken to a local veterinary clinic by officers.

A wallaby is defined as a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea.

Although the species is not native to Great Britain there is an introduced population.

The RSPCA said they were considered established in the wild in Britain,

According to People's Trust For Endangered Species, British wallabies belong to a subspecies, Macropus rufogriseus rufogriseus, native to Tasmania, and escaped from private collections and zoos in the last century.

They have no natural predators in the UK but the young are sometimes killed by dogs or foxes.

Anyone who spots a wallaby in the wild has been urged not to approach them and to report it to UK Wallaby Sightings

Devon and Cornwall police said in a statement:

Police were notified just before 10pm last night to the A39 at St Columb following reports of an injured wallaby in the road.

Officers attended to find that the wallaby had been hit by a vehicle and had sadly died. The animal was dropped to a local veterinary clinic.

Officers attended to find that the wallaby had been hit by a vehicle and had sadly died.

The animal was dropped to a local veterinary clinic.