Rhea on the run II: Giant flightless bird escapes and is spotted running down a high street six weeks after another one sparked a mass hunt

• Police in Warminster spent three hours chasing the giant flightless bird
  
• The owner said male rheas 'this time of year can be really feisty'
  
• The owner explained 'unfortunately he has taken a dislike to me'
  
• The last giant rhea to escape had to be shot and was turned into sausages
  

By DARREN BOYLE

Published: 09:08 EST, 28 June 2014 | Updated: 12:00 EST, 28 June 2014

A 'feisty' giant rhea burst past its owner and went running down a busy main road causing bemusement, just six weeks after another of a massive birds escaped.

Locals in Warminster Town, Wiltshire, took photographs of the bird as it fled having avoided the attempts of several women who tried to keep it under control.

Police spent three hours chasing the flightless bird before it was cornered allowing the owner to safely collect it.

The giant rhea, pictured, escaped from its owner yesterday evening and ran down the street in Warminster

Local resident Andy Taylor spotted the rhea, pictured, running past his car as he was stuck in rush-hour traffic yesterday afternoon

Police officers spent three hours trying to capture massive bird after it escaped yesterday afternoon bringing traffic in Warminster to a standstill

Eyewitness Adam Taylor, 29 said: 'To be honest I didn't see it at first. I was wondering why the car in front had suddenly stopped.

'Then I saw what I thought was an albino ostrich and a women trying to shepherd it back towards her house.

'I thought, "well that's something you don't see everyday".

'The owner managed to grab it but it shed a few feathers escaping her grasp, and then ran off stopped and turned by my car.

'I thought about getting out and helping but wasn't sure how safe a choice that was, as I was unsure if it was dangerous or not.

'I've seen ostriches before at Longleat and assumed this was the same.'

The bird's owner, who did not want give his name, said: 'It's a male bird and unfortunately he has taken a dislike to me so when I went to get the post yesterday afternoon he just burst at me.

'He made a dash for it through the open gate and that was it. Unfortunately this time of year males can be really feisty and that's what happened.

'It wouldn't ever hurt anyone else, they are lovely creatures, my 10-year-old can play with them just fine, it's just me he doesn't like. He made a run for it down the road and we had to wait for the police to corner it and bring it back.'

He added: 'I used to own lots of Rhea, I had them on my farm, they are lovely birds. I'm in the process of selling off the house so I'm selling off the birds too, this was my last one.

'They are a South American bird and they keep them rather than sheep, they really are lovely.'

Police officers spent three hours chasing the bird.

An earlier escaped rhea in Hertfordshire, pictured, was shot dead and turned into sausages

Baffled residents could not believe their eyes when they spotted an exotic bird - running riot in a quiet town centre.

Police called nearby Longleat Safari Park thinking that the Rhea may have escaped from the estate, but they said all animals were accounted for.

The giant white flightless bird was eventually cornered in a back garden in Warminster, where its owner came to pick it up.

Sergeant Jim Suter, Sector Sergeant for Trowbridge and Bradford-on-Avon, informed followers of the strange chase on Twitter.

'Police responding to report of Ostrich running through #Warminster High Street,' he tweeted.

'The Ostrich turned out to be a Rea located rear of #Warminster hospital and returned to owner.'

Local Kate Preece wrote on Twitter: 'It was BIG, long neck & legs carrying it at break neck speed down the road! I was scared it would be killed!'

Jamie Wilkins said: 'I'm a little concerned. My wife is out with friends tonight and there's reports of an ostrich running through Warminster.'

He later added: 'The people of Warminster can relax. It wasn't an ostrich it was a rhea. It was cornered behind the hospital.'

Grace Dickins wrote: 'Just seen picture evidence that there is indeed a loose emu or rhea running around Warminster High Street.'

Fully-grown rheas can weigh up to 80lb, exceed 6ft in height and run as fast as 40mph.

The spur on their heel is as big as their claws and they can kick with a force of 800lb per square inch.