Deal’s mysterious hob ferret featured on BBC’s The One Show last night.

With reference to the zoo animals roaming the streets in Georgia, after recent flooding destroyed enclosures, the show carried a report on the wild animals wandering the streets in the UK.

Producers mainly focused on the racoon dog - originally from the forest of Asia - which has been causing alarm in the UK because of its threat to wildlife especially hedgehogs.

Afterwards, presenters Alex Jones and Matt Baker along with the The One Show’s answer to Dr Doolittle, Mike Dilger, looked at others which have been spotted.

Samantha Simmonds’ photograph of the black creature in her garden in Church Path, Deal, was the first to appear on the screen.

Mr Dilger said: “I thought when I saw it, it was an American mink on steroids, which was a species which was introduced for the fur farms and then escaped and released. But the experts seem to think it’s a hob ferret which is a domesticated version of a pole cat.

"It’s a domesticated animal that’s got really bulky.”

Other unusual animals to feature included a black fox and a micro moth.

Miss Simmonds who watched the show with her partner, Richard Hill, and four-year-old son, Tyler Hill said: “It was funny, I had Tyler bouncing beside me laughing about it. He was really excited to see it and asked when his ferret was coming back!

“I think he will talk about it for couple of days now he’s seen it again.”

The hob ferret was spotted on numerous occasions in March including in London Road, Marke Wood Park and St Margaret’s.

There has been no reports of it since.