Notts police officers ‘very surprised’ to pick up a penguin while on patrol

The friendly bird was marching around Strelley in the early hours of Sunday morning, August 9, when he was spotted by police, who quickly moved to question him on what he was doing walking in the middle of a road.

The Humboldt penguin had escaped from his home and travelled around a mile before Nottinghamshire Police officers came across him.

He also turned out to be quite the poser and did not mind a quick photoshoot in front of the police car.

Police Constable Gareth Philp, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “We were very surprised when we came across a penguin on our shift.

“We see some very interesting things while out on patrol, but a penguin walking up the middle of the road has to be one of the more bizarre findings we have come across.

“We nicknamed him Po-Po. He posed for some pictures with us and he was very friendly with our officers while we made contact with his owner.

“He was then safely returned home.”

The Humboldt penguin was returned to his enclosure on a farm in Strelley.

Neighbourhood Inspector Gordon Fenwick, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Our officers are trained to deal with a variety of incidents with complex demands and it is great that we quickly reunited the penguin with their owner.”

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