A young wallaby caught staff at Shuttleworth College on the hop when he escaped by jumping over a gate. Skippy, the dominant male among a group of 10 wallabies given to the college by Woburn Safari Park three months ago, made his leap to freedom last week

A young wallaby caught staff at Shuttleworth College on the hop when he escaped by jumping over a gate.

Skippy, the dominant male among a group of 10 wallabies given to the college by Woburn Safari Park three months ago, made his leap to freedom last week during darkness.

A few hours later he was seen bounding across the nearby countryside and eventually ended up in woodland near Broom where he was spotted by a couple out walking their dog.

They managed to catch Skippy after a bit of a chase and a struggle.

"He jumped over the fence but we have now made that a bit higher to prevent him getting out again," said the college's animal centre manager Carl Groombridge.

"He is the dominant male among the group and has a character all of his own. Once he had got away we were worried about him being injured on the roads.

"But he is back and seems quite happy and has settled down with the other wallabies.