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'I opened the curtains and there it was': Mother spots wallaby roaming wild on her housing estate

The wallaby seen in Bethersden, Kent - SWNS-London-+44 (0)1179066550
The wallaby seen in Bethersden, Kent - SWNS-London-+44 (0)1179066550

A mother couldn't believe her eyes when she opened her bedroom curtains and saw a wild wallaby staring back.

Lucy Austin, 34, was getting her five-year-old son ready for school when she spotted the marsupial in the treeline at the bottom of her garden.

Josh was amazed to see the animal, which had wandered onto their housing estate and was reaching up into the branches and looking for seeds on the ground.

Lucy Austin and her son Josh were delighted when a wallaby appeared near their home - Credit: KMG / SWNS.com
Lucy Austin and her son Josh were delighted when a wallaby appeared near their home Credit: KMG / SWNS.com

The wild animal, which is rarely seen in Britain, spent the entire day outside the family-of-four's home, in Bethersden, Kent.

Lucy, a mother-of-two, said: "I couldn't believe it, I opened the curtains and just by the grassy area, there it was.

"It didn't mind us being there, he looked really healthy and was going around looking for seeds that had fallen from the trees, then reaching up into the branches.

Josh was amazed to see the animal, which had wandered onto their housing estate - Credit: KMG / SWNS.com
Josh was amazed to see the animal, which had wandered onto their housing estate Credit: KMG / SWNS.com

"He was hopping around and then laying around enjoying the sun."

Wallabies, which have a life expectancy of 18 years, have been seen around Bethersden, for over a decade according to locals.

There are roughly 100 wallabies living in Britain, with populations on the Isle of Man, Peak District, Devon and East Sussex.

The wild animal, which is rarely seen in Britain, spent the entire day outside the family-of-four's home - Credit: KMG / SWNS.com
The wild animal, which is rarely seen in Britain, spent the entire day outside the family-of-four's home Credit: KMG / SWNS.com

In 2009 one was photographed by a family in nearby Pluckley during a ghost hunting trip and another was hit by motorist Kate Scorey on the A20 in 2005.

Part-time nurse Lucy, who saw the wallaby earlier this month, added: "We live on a new estate and it has lots of fields and we have a lot of trees next to us and beyond is the woods.

"He spent the whole day there, he was just three metres in front of me, I had heard rumours about it but never thought I would see it."

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