Motorists were given a shock after they spotted a wallaby hopping along a roadside in a Sussex village.

Police received reports of a sighting of the animal along Brighton Road in Lower Beeding, near Horsham, on Sunday evening.

Witnesses were seen dumbstruck after spotting the wallaby, which are native to Australia - which is some 9,436 miles away from the village.

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The sighting was close to Leonardslee Lakes and Gardens, which has had a colony of wallabies for more than a century.

However, owners said that they do not believe the animal came from their site and said there had been occasional sightings of wild wallabies in the area.

The Argus: Passers-by were surprised to see the wallaby hopping along the side of the road in Lower BeedingPassers-by were surprised to see the wallaby hopping along the side of the road in Lower Beeding (Image: Sussex News and Pictures)

A police spokesman said that officers did not attend the scene of the sighting after being told the animal had “made off into a field”.

Wallabies are much smaller in size compared to kangaroos, ranging from the size of a rabbit to almost six feet long.

The animals, most often found in Australia and New Zealand, live in many types of habitats, including grasslands, forests and swamps.