A wallaby has finally been brought to safety after a 12-hour rescue mission.

Native to Australia and New Guinea, the animal was seen casually wandering the streets of a village near Gateshead, more than a week ago.

Residents of Chopwell were left stunned when they saw the marsupial  outside their home on Wednesday, October 19.

Concerned about its wellbeing, the local community and various wildlife agencies rallied together to rescue the wallaby.

Volunteers from Blyth Wildlife Rescue, BeastWatch UK (BWUK) and The Lost Dog Trapping Team freed the animal from a dog trap set up to catch it, and treated it for a severe injury to its face.

After a 12-hour mission Chopwell’s mystery visitor has been appropriately named ‘Choppy’.

Once sedated, the wallaby was checked for life-threatening injuries and deemed fit for transport to the veterinary practice in Birtley.

Choppy received a full assessment including X-rays, which fortunately showed no fractures.

But the animal had sustained swelling and bruising to its head, with bone exposed on its nose.

The wound was cleaned and successfully sutured under general anaesthetic.

Choppy was then transported to Northumberland College Zoo at Kirkley Hall, where teams will monitor it closely before integrating it with the two resident females already on site.

Blyth Wildlife Rescue founder and senior medic John Anderson, who attended the rescue, said: ‘This was a long and stressful rescue for all involved, taking 12 hours from start to finish.

‘There was a large amount of operational logistics involved today, complicated by the last-minute nature of the emergency.

‘We’re grateful to all persons involved in playing their part in the rescue mission.

‘We’re pleased the animal is now safe from harm and we look forward to further updates in Choppy’s progress.’

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