EASTBOURNE is often visited for its pier and picturesque promenade.

But, in an unexpected turn of events, tourists can now add water buffalo to that list.

Residents of a housing estate were shocked when two of the animals sauntered past their front doors in the early hours of this morning.

It transpires that the enormous buffalo, which can weight up to 550kg, had escaped from a nearby primary school.

Mike Fairclough, headmaster of West Rise Junior School explained: “The school leases 120 acres of marshland opposite the site and on this land we do various activities such as stand up paddleboarding, forest schools, bee-keeping and farming.

“As part of that we keep five Asian Water Buffalo, which we have had for nine years.

“When there is excessive rainfall water levels in the marshland, which is also a flood plain, will rise.

“The water buffalo wallow in the summer but are not fans of the water and the cold in the winter, so they go looking for higher ground.

“Two of our buffalo swam across the river and accessed a housing estate.

“Our farm manager was alerted at 2.30 this morning by police and tracked them down.”

At 7am, another water buffalo escaped and was filmed by a surprised passerby as it strolled along Faversham Road in Eastbourne.

This was later recovered and Mr Fairclough said the school had since been donated hay by neighbours to make the buffalo’s accommodation more comfortable for them.