AN escaped wallaby which forced the closure of York's ring road has been caught safe and well.

The A1237 was closed between Haxby and Strensall as some 15 police officers worked to catch the wallaby.

However, the animal has been tranquilized by a vet and was transported to Askham Bryan College following an extensive roadside operation at about 8.15pm.

Firefighters using heat sensors managed to find the wallaby and police officers surrounded it before a specialist vet, who travelled to the scene from Hull, tranquilized it with a dart gun.

The worst case scenario - and one officers worked to avoid - was that the wallaby could have been shot.

Inspector Richard Mallinson said: "We had a lot of difficulty with vets but we got one from Hull with expertise in the area.

"Within half an hour [of being shot with the dart gun] the wallaby became docile and was lifted into a horse box."

The wallaby has now been taken to a specially-built wallaby enclosure at Askham Bryan College.

Insp Mallison said he had to make the decision to close the road for the safety of the public as there was a danger it could move into the traffic and cause a potentially fatal accident.

Police had been at the scene since mid afternoon and made the decision to close the road just after 6pm.

A member of the public phoned police at 11.25pm on Tuesday after spotting the animal in Strensall Road, opposite Earswick Chase, “jumping on the grass verge”.

North Yorkshire Police confirmed a wallaby had been seen by officers who arrived just before midnight, and officers phoned for the RSPCA, but the RSPCA were unable to attend so the animal was left.

The wallaby was also spotted by Press reader Mark Taylor, who was driving his taxi and passengers on the road between Old Earswick and the turn off for Towthorpe.

He said: "I did also stop two other cabs as they passed by and they saw it too.

"Unfortunately my attempts to record it on my phone were a disaster, but at least my mates who I had told about the incident now have to apologise for the stick they have been giving me."

Local resident Karen Wyrill was walking the dog with her partner Steve when they saw the wallaby close to the road near Connaught Court in Strensall.

She and Steve managed to herd the marsupial into a gated and fenced field on Wednesday evening, and it had been there since, occasionally hopping through the fence into the public footpath nearby.

Karen said: "We just surrounded it and slowly walked it through the gate into the field.

"It could have caused a serious accident on the bypass, the poor thing. It didn't seem nervous, it seemed quite calm."