Alpaca causes traffic chaos after escaping

By Adam Dutton via SWNS

This is the bizarre moment an escaped ALPACA caused chaos by galloping along a busy city street after making a dash for freedom.

Shoppers and residents were left baffled at the sight of the runaway farmyard animal darting between moving traffic outside a row of shops near Birmingham, England city center.

The alpaca, called Angel, caused mayhem on Soho Road - one of the busiest stretches in and out of the Second City - before finally being recaptured by police.

Comical video footage shows Angel trotting around in front of stunned onlookers while photos show the sheepish animal posing with cops after being caught.

Owner Anji Barker said Angel had escaped from a nearby school field by jumping over a fence before "going on a jolly" along the bustling street on June 2.

Anji, who runs the charity Newbigin Community Trust, said: "Angel escaped from one of three fields we keep her in by jumping over a fence while she was pregnant.

"She pretty much went straight through a bush and off she went for a jolly up the Soho Road. Maybe she was looking for a Jubilee party.

"I was really frightened at the time because it is such a busy road with lots of people and lots of cars, anything could have happened to her.

"But alpacas spit or sit down if they are stressed and I saw the footage which reassured me because it looked like she was having the time of her life.

"She was trotting along without a care in the world. It must have been quite a sight.

"Luckily police and members of the community were able to corner her quite quickly and I was able to get her back home 15 minutes after she escaped.

"We have three alpacas and we mainly take them into schools and use them for animal therapy. They are well cared for and bring a lot of joy to a deprived community.

"This was just an unfortunate one-off incident. We are small charity with very little but we can reassure people that our animals are extremely well looked after.

"She is used to the busy city streets as well as I take her for a walk sometimes, if she had lived in the countryside this would have been terrifying for her.

"But she seemed to enjoy her little adventure - I just hope she doesn't think of making another dash for freedom again."

Witness Hannad Bare, 23, was on his way to have his hair cut when he captured the unusual scenes unfolding on his mobile phone camera.

Hannad, who works for Mercedes Benz and lives in Birmingham city center, said: "I couldn't believe me eyes, I thought I was seeing things at first.

"It was truly bizarre, I can't even figure out where it had come from. You expect to see them in the countryside but not in the middle of Birmingham.

"On a serious note, it could have easily been badly hurt as the Soho Road is busy at all times of the day.

"It could have easily hurt itself or even a child but it darted along a quieter residential road and I believe it was safely captured.

"It was the last thing I expected to see while on my way to a hair appointment, it was quite a surreal day.

"I don't know what it was doing there - it's still a complete mystery to me."

West Midlands Police confirmed the alpaca was safely reunited with its rightful owner.

A force spokesperson said: "We were called 12.45pm to Soho Road and helped reunite the animal with its owner."