Eddie the emu has been struck by a car and killed after escaping from an enclosure he shared with sister Ermintrude at the Hop Farm, near Paddock Wood.

The large bird was reportedly wandering on the A228 near the Hop Farm when he was hit.

Motorist Wendy Buchan said: "I have just driven back from Paddock Wood and saw the strangest sight.

"Traffic slowed in the dual carriageway which leads from the Hop Farm heading Maidstone-bound and I saw something had been knocked over further ahead.

"As I passed, I was very surprised to see that the large road-kill was, it appeared, either an ostrich or emu."

Eddie and Ermintrude, who were brother and sister, hatched at the Hop Farm and lived together in Hopper's Animal World.

Miguel Fenton, PR and Marketing Manager at the Hop Farm, said: "The people on the farm are obviously very upset by this.

"The safety and well-being of our animals is of utmost importance and we are investigating to make sure nothing like this happens again."

Mr Fenton said all other animals were accounted for, and the farm would take advice from its animal experts on whether to get another emu.

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