The pet, named Rodney, had escaped in the appropriately-named town of Loose, near Maidstone, Kent, when he approached the front door and rang the bell.

The video shows Rodney walking up the driveway and prodding the door with his beak, before kicking a nearby plant pot.

Later, three people can be seen rescuing the animal by stalking it up the driveway. One of them then moves forward and wraps his arms around the emu, steering him to safety.

Maureen Roberts, 81, was having lunch with her daughter and "couldn't believe it" when she saw the emu at the door on the camera.

"My dog was at home in the front room at the time," she said. "I don't know what he would've thought seeing a giant bird like that."

Her neighbour had alerted her to the unexpected visitor but she'd dismissed their call as a prank.

"I thought she was winding me up and I laughed it off," she added. "But it turned out she wasn't joking."

Kent Police Tactical Operations posted two pictures from the rescue on X, formerly known as Twitter.

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They wrote: "A slightly different call for [vehicles] SD14 & YA92 this afternoon. One Emu (Rodney) from the Maidstone area safely returned to his owners."