Penguin gets picked up by police while waddling through village street

Police have picked up a penguin after he was found waddling through a village street in the middle of the night.

Officers were met with the unusual sight of the bird making its way through Strelley, near Nottingham, last weekend.

The animal had escaped from a farm and wildlife centre nearby.

Broxtowe North Police said in a Facebook post that the "friendly" Humboldt penguin was spotted walking in the middle of the road.

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The force gave the penguin the nickname “Po-Po”.

It shared some pictures of the penguin in front of a police car with its Facebook followers.

Officers came across the penguin on 9 August.

PC Gareth Philp, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “We were very surprised when we came across a penguin on our shift.

"We see some very interesting things while out on patrol, but a penguin walking up the middle of the road has to be one of the more bizarre findings we have come across.

"We nicknamed him Po-Po. He posed for some pictures with us and he was very friendly with our officers while we made contact with his owner.

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"He was then safely returned home."

Neighbourhood Inspector Gordon Fenwick, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: "Our officers are trained to deal with a variety of incidents with complex demands and it is great that we quickly reunited the penguin with their owner."

In January 2019, a pair of stolen penguins were recovered by police in Strelley.

A 23-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of burglary.