Escaped emu Rodney taken home by police after knocking on door with beak

An emu has been safely returned to its owners after it was spotted wandering around Kent on Saturday, where it set off a home doorbell camera.

The pet, named Rodney, had escaped from a property in Loose, a village in Kent, before making his way to a home in Maidstone where he approached the front door.

Images shared online of the bird by Kent Police Tactical Operations showed how he had wandered up the driveway of the property and could be seen standing by the door, facing the house.

Rodney the emu was pictured approaching the front door of a resident in the Maidstone area (Kent Police/PA)

Video footage captured by the doorbell camera showed the bird walking up the driveway and prodding the door with his beak, before kicking a nearby plant pot.

Later on in the clip, three people could be seen rescuing the animal by moving behind it up the driveway, Sky News reports.

One person managed to wrap their arms around the bird before steering him to safety.

Kent Police said that at around 1.10pm, officers on patrol in Maidstone assisted with the emu that had escaped from a residential property in the Loose area.

In a post to X, formerly Twitter, Kent Police Tactical Operations wrote: “A slightly different call for (vehicles) SD14 & YA92 this afternoon.

“One Emu (Rodney) from the Maidstone area safely returned to his owners.”