Albino ostrich causes havoc in the streets of Dover

An ostrich strutted proudly through a town street in England. And it took six police officers, a team from the RSPCA and a sharp-eyed scaffolder to finally catch it. Driving to work at 6.30am, Wayne McLester “got the fright of his life” when the 6ft bird sprinted past him doing at least 40mph.

Wayne, 21, said: “It just stopped in front of my van and stared at me. I was about to try to catch it when I remembered a wildlife show which said ostriches could kill a lion with a kick, so I stayed in my van.”

Instead the scaffolder used his van to carefully herd the bird into a car park in Dover, Kent, then called the police for help. He went on: “I took a couple of photos and watched six police officers surround the bird looking pretty nervous.

“They waited a good hour trying to contain the ostrich before the RSPCA arrived and took it away.” Exactly where the albino ostrich escaped from remains a mystery, but it could be it made a very sensible bid for freedom – there are breeders in the area supplying ostrich meat for a growing market.