Man who crashed truck into shop and ran away was caught after being attacked by an emu

A man who fled the scene after crashing his truck into a shop front was caught after being attacked by an emu. The driver, who has yet to be named by police, smashed into the building before attempting to make off across a stretch of farmland where exotic animals are kept.

There he was confronted by the large angry bird who, thinking its chicks were being threatened, set upon him. The stand-off then allowed pursuing police to catch up with the motorist and apprehend him.

The bizarre incident on Monday, July 25, occurred in the centre of Malmesbury in Wiltshire, reports WiltshireLive. Dean Wade, a chef from the hotel next door to the crash site, also gave chase after seeing the driver and his passenger run off.

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"I just assumed someone had lost control of the car," said the first-aider who'd initially gone to see if he could help anyone who'd been injured. "But when I got there they both tried to run away."

The driver was chased on foot for 15 minutes before the emu encounter brought things to a stop (WiltshireLive/Facebook)

A 15 minute pursuit then took place along streets, across allotments and eventually out of the town and into the fields. Then, after leaping over a farm fence, the driver found himself face to face with the emu.

"She had young with her and obviously felt threatened, before proceeding to attack him," added Dean. "I'm a fisherman and have been around swans when they are with their young, so I know how protective mother birds can be. So I thought, 'There's no way I'm going in there, especially given how massive emus are'." Officers from Wiltshire police arrived shortly afterward and made an arrest.

Emus, like the one pictured here in East Sussex, can become aggressive if they feel their young are under threat (Adam Gerrard / Daily Mirror)

A Wiltshire Police spokesman said: "At around 12.30pm today (July 25) we received a call about a single-vehicle collision in Gloucester Street, Malmesbury, where a vehicle had collided with the front of a building. The driver and passenger of the vehicle were seen to leave the scene, so officers carried out a search of the local area. They have both now been detained and enquiries are ongoing."

The town's main road remained closed for a number of hours afterwards and all three emergency services were in attendance.

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