A wallaby called Skippy had his feet firmly back on the ground today after leaping a six-foot-high fence in a bid for freedom.

The animal had police hopping about in a bid to catch it after loping along busy roads for more than a mile and bringing traffic to a standstill.

Skippy gave officers the runaround for an hour before dog handler PC David Cornforth made a flying leap and grabbed its tail.

After being "arrested" the wallaby was escorted back to his home at the Ponderosa Rural Therapeutic Centre in Heckmondwike in the back of a police van.

PC Cornforth said it was the most unusual arrest he had made in 16 years as a police officer.

He said he was sent to help recapture Skippy, as he caused mayhem in Ravensthorpe, near Dewsbury, at 10pm on Wednesday.

"I thought it might have been a joke but, sure enough, when I got there other officers had got this animal cornered," said PC Cornforth, 34.

"But every time it was cornered it ran off and the more we chased it the more it ran away. It was frightened."

Some cars had to swerve as the wallaby ran down the road towards them but police eventually shepherded it away and the animal hid in a bush.

"The farm manager from Ponderosa was there and advised us the best way to get hold of it was to grab its tail," said PC Cornforth. "It was dark and we thought we could lose it in the bushes but I managed to get close enough to make a dramatic leap and catch its tail.

"It was struggling but I kept hold of it and pulled it out of the bushes. We didn't have a cage so we put it in the back of the police van and transported it back to the rural centre.

"Running around chasing a wallaby seemed an invitation to make a fool of myself. I thought I could end up on a Jeremy Beadle programme. I was expecting to be chasing burglars and car thieves, rather than wallabies. It's the most unusual arrest I have made, but I would prefer to have a fugitive I could charge."

Maureen Cook, owner of the Ponderosa centre, said they had checked the fence around the enclosure where the wallabies live and found no holes in it.

She said: "We can't find any obvious reason why Skippy got out, but he must have cleared the fence. Normally, wallabies can jump around five feet, and the fence is six or seven feet high. It would have been extremely difficult to clear but he has probably been startled and jumped extremely high."

One-year-old Skippy is one of six Australian wallabies living at the Ponderosa. He is about three-and-a-half-feet high and weighs around three stone.

After being returned to his home he was kept on his own in a shed overnight to recover from the stress of his ordeal and seemed no worse for his adventure yesterday.

Mrs Cook said: "Our vet is coming down to check on him. We left him in a dark shed overnight so he could settle down. In the morning he was huddled in a corner and seemed okay.

"Wallabies like their own privacy. They are fine as long as there is a fence between them and you!

"It would have been very distressing if Skippy had caused an accident, that's the last thing I would have wanted. But, trying to see the funny side, I look at our farm manager, Karen France's legs, which are black and blue from her part in recatching him, and I have to smile."

e-mail: steve.wright@bradford.newsquest.co.uk