A group of five French teenagers have been arrested after drunkenly stealing a circus llama named Serge and taking on him on a tour of Bordeaux via the city’s tram system.

The animal was abducted by the youths early on Thursday morning after they wandered into a closed-down circus. The quintet had recently exited a club in Bordeaux, a city renowned as the country’s wine capital.

“We went in and played with the animals,” one of the five, named Mathieu, told BFM TV. “We ended up taking a llama with us.”

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The group had originally set their hearts on taking a zebra home, but after the beast proved too stubborn they happily settled for the more amenable Serge.

“It walked with us like a good dog would have,” said Mathieu.

The group took the animal onto Bordeaux’s tram system but were rumbled after passengers reported the llama’s presence to a ticket inspector.

“He moved along the tram and we couldn’t hold onto him,” said Mathieu. “The inspector made him get off and tied him to a lamppost.”

Reports are confused as to what happened next but it seems the teenagers proceeded to bid their new friend adieu, leaving him in the care of the inspector.

Although the group was soon picked up by police and taken to a local station they will not be charged for the caper. Serge's adventures, first spotted by The Daily Dot, have even achieved viral fame in France with a Facebook page requesting clemency for the teenagers now topping more than 720 thousand likes.

Serge the Llama himself has even leapt to the group’s defence – although this is Serge Lama, a French singer who also hails from the region.

“It’s a joke that ended well,” Lama told BFM TV. “We’re so used to seeing unfunny things whereas this has helped break the ambience of moroseness [here in France].”

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“That’s what we need right now.”

Serge (the llama) is reportedly doing fine, and was even able to perform in his accustomed routine at the circus on Thursday despite his late night out.