A video of what is believed to be a wallaby has gone viral over the weekend- and nope, it wasn't anywhere near Australia.
Rather a forty miles away from Leeds, right here in Yorkshire.
Spotted in Mosborough, on the outskirts of Sheffield, a post was shared on Facebook stating "Swear to god I've just seen a Kangaroo in Mosborough!! What is this anyone??" - and has since seen hundred of comments flooding across community pages.
The viral post has been shared over 1000 times, with many commenting that the animal looks far more like a wallaby.
Whilst these creatures do make headlines every few years when sighted, it turns out that they're not as rare as you'd think.
These hopping little macropods, a smaller relative of the kangaroo, used to be seen bouncing around the Peak District.
Although their native home is on the eastern coast of Australia and Tasmania, a small group of Bennett’s wallabies successfully bred and survived in Staffordshire.
Credit: Nicholson Museum
But how on earth did they end up here, half a planet away from their natural habitat?
In 1936 a local landowner, Henry Brocklehurst, introduced five wallabies as part of his private zoo collection.
The creatures were deliberately released during World War Two, along with three Himalayan yak.
Against the odds, the wallabies thrived.
At the peak of their existence here in the north west, there were around 50 in the colony, though one particularly bleak winter in 1963 is understood to have halved their population (one local recalled seeing ‘several bodies as the snowdrifts melted’).
In the Facebook group Roaches Appreciation Society, Clare said: “I saw one at the Roaches skyline in the early ‘90s. It sat watching us climbing with its head poking out of the bracken. Then it bounded off. Much to the bemusement of my King Charles spaniel.”
By the 2000s, most locals believed there were only two wallabies left – a mother and daughter, both white-faced.
The Roaches. Credit: Unsplash, Nirmal Rajendharkumar
Beside this recent claim, the last confirmed sighting was back in 2009, with undeniable footage showing one of the wallabies bounding through the heather near The Roaches.
Sadly, it’s thought that the snowy weather in the winter of 2010 may have finally pushed the colony into extinction.
There have been plenty more submissions of sightings – though none with photos or videos – in the years since,all listed here.
Another sighting was in 2017 near the Wild Boar Inn in Wincle, where one person shared a photo of a ‘creature’ that they were ‘fairly certain’ was a wallaby.
When the Financial Times mentioned that sighting to Dr Anthony Caravaggi, a lecturer in conservation biology at the University of South Wales, he replied: “I have no doubt in my mind that that one was a cat.”
Dr Caravaggi published a paper on red-necked wallabies in the UK, which recorded 95 verified sightings in the 10 years leading up to 2018. He’s pretty certain the Peak District wallaby colony is extinct.
A leading expert in the field, who sadly died in 2013, was Dr Derek Yalden.
He found droppings in 2009, but nothing since.
Extreme snow in 2010 may have ended the wallabies’ roam at The Roaches. Credit: Unsplash, ian kelsall
He wrote in a letter to Roaches.org.uk: “I think they ran out of decent food. However, accidental deaths, on the roads, falling over cliffs and (especially in 1962-63 and 1979) severe winters also took a toll.
“Why should a wallaby venture onto the roads, or jump over a cliff? Probably because a certain section of the public seemed to respond to a sighting with “let’s chase it”, or their dog did.
“They always were very timid, and I watched them panic both to thunder and to the terrifying sight of a sheep arriving.”
There is one place to get a guaranteed wallaby sighting, but don’t expect much in the way of hopping.
A 20-year-old man from Bradford has been sentenced to time in prison this week after admitting to numerous child sex offences.
Following an investigation initially by West Mercia and Lancashire Police, Kasey Fitton, aged 20 of Amundsen Avenue in Bradford, was arrested in February 2025 on suspicion of engaging in sexual communication with four children residing outside of West Yorkshire Police force area.
An investigation was then launched by Bradford Safeguarding Unit, who went on to uncover large-scale sexual offending against children.
In February 2026, Fitton was charged with 16 counts of sexual communication with a child and 20 counts of making/possession of indecent images of children - with police confirming that five child victims have been identified.
At Bradford Crown Court, Fitton admitted to all 36 counts, and then earlier this week (7 September), he was jailed for seven and a half years, plus a five year extension on licence. He will also be required to sign the sex offenders register for life, and he has been given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 15 years.
Speaking following the sentencing this week, Detective Superintendent Alan Weekes of Bradford District Police, described Fitton as a 'very dangerous individual to children'.
"There are further investigations ongoing and we would appeal to anyone who may have been a victim to come forward to us," DSI Weekes said.
"We are keen to speak to anyone who interacted with the Snapchat accounts Kaseyfitton23, Kaseyfitton24 and MyCroft110.
"We take all reports of this nature extremely seriously and they are treated with sensitivity. We have specially trained officers who will guide you through the process and do everything we can to get justice."
Featured Image - West Yorkshire Police
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History has never been this fun – Operation Mincemeat at Leeds Grand Theatre and Opera House | Review
Declan Kelly
Don’t judge a book by its cover... or in this case, a musical by its posters.
Going in completely blind, I really didn’t know what to expect from Operation Mincemeat. In fact, after the first number, I found myself thinking, I’m not sure this is quite my cup of tea.
How wrong I was.
Watching Tuesday night’s performance at Leeds Grand Theatre and Opera House, I was quickly proven wrong about what I thought a musical needed to be. There are no huge sets, endless costume changes, or hundreds of performers filling the stage. Instead, Operation Mincemeat delivers a genuinely funny, surprisingly heart-warming story with just five performers, while somehow teaching you a bit of history along the way.
If I had to sum this show up in two words? Belly laughter.
Based on the real-life British intelligence operation during the Second World War, the musical follows the unlikely group tasked with convincing Hitler that the Allies were planning to invade Greece rather than Sicily.
And honestly, if you didn’t already know it actually happened, you’d probably think someone had made it up. That ridiculousness is exactly what makes the show work. The comedy comes thick and fast, with characters, accents, and personalities constantly changing as the five-strong cast jump between roles.
And this is where the production really impressed me.The multi-roling is incredibly slick. A pair of glasses, a change in voice or a small shift in posture can completely transform a character, and somehow it never feels like a gimmick. Instead, it becomes part of the magic of the production. It’s a brilliant example of how much can be achieved on stage without throwing money at elaborate sets or costumes.
Credit: Matt CrockettCredit: Matt Crockett
But underneath all the comedy is where Operation Mincemeat really surprised me.
One of the standout performances for me came from Christian Andrews as Hester Leggatt. During ‘Roses’, Andrews completely captivates the audience while portraying an older woman writing about the experience of wives waiting for their loved ones away at war.
What makes the moment so effective is its simplicity. With little more than a pair of glasses, Andrews transforms into Hester, but there is never any sense that the character is being played for laughs. Instead, there is real care and respect in the performance.
Andrews captures the loneliness, vulnerability, and uncertainty of a woman whose life has been put on hold while her partner is away fighting. After so much laughter, the sudden change in tone really lands. For me, it was one of the clearest examples of the craftsmanship behind the show. Both the writing and performance manage to find genuine emotion without losing the production’s personality.
The music follows the same balance, moving between big, energetic numbers and quieter moments that give the characters room to breathe. It never feels like songs have been added simply because this happens to be a musical; they actually help tell the story.
And despite being based on a historical event, it never feels like a history lesson.
Operation Mincemeat at Leeds Grand Theatre and Opera House / Credit: Matt Crockett
In fact, I left the theatre wanting to find out more about the real Operation Mincemeat, which is probably the biggest compliment I can give it and definitely will be watching the film very soon.
If you’re heading to the theatre expecting huge dance numbers, powerhouse ballads and elaborate sets, then this might not be the show for you. But if you want something different, something that will have you laughing at one of the strangest stories in British history while leaving you amazed at just how slick a production can be with only five cast members, then this is absolutely worth seeing.
What I initially thought wasn’t my cup of tea ended up being one of the biggest surprises of the evening.
Funny, clever, completely bonkers at times and unexpectedly moving, Operation Mincemeat proves you don’t need a massive production to make a big impression. I have seen a lot of theatre productions in my life, but I have never seen anything as slick as this production, and that is pure talent at its finest.
Sometimes, all you need is a ridiculous true story, five brilliant performers and a whole lot of belly laughs.
The Hoot -
23rd January 2023 
