White wallaby hops through Suffolk countryside

A man was left in "disbelief" when he saw a white wallaby hopping around in front of his tractor.

Jordan Carter was cutting verges for Suffolk's highways department near Edwardstone village on Wednesday when he spotted the marsupial.

He said his wife was so doubtful about his sighting, that she thought his video was created using AI.

An apparent albino wallaby was also spotted not far away in 2017 - between Liston and Glemsford which is also close to Sudbury - and Carter said it would be lovely to know if the same animal had survived in the wild.

"I couldn't believe my eyes when I first saw it," said Carter.

"The only wallaby I've ever seen was at Colchester Zoo - and it wasn't white."

He was talking to his wife on his mobile phone when he spotted the white tail, and told her, "this isn't normal".

"It wasn't at all scared by my tractor," he said.

"I really couldn't believe what I was seeing - I saw the tail, and thought, what on earth is that - and then I saw the rest and then it just bounced off."

Wallabies are native to Australia but research suggests they are increasingly thriving in the wild in the UK.

Helen Pearson, head of animal studies at Suffolk Rural, a college in Otley village which has its own wallabies, said they could survive "quite well" in the UK.

"They all come from Australia," she said.

"They live in shrubland out there, so as much as you think Australia is quite hot, they cope quite well in our climate. They're really hardy animals."

Carter added: "I will certainly look for it again, as it's not something you would usually see and I would definitely like to find out more."

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