An unusual video has emerged of an emu dashing down a street in Devon, UK on Tuesday.

The footage, captured by a passing motorist, shows the escaped animal running swiftly down a road in Ilfracombe.

According to the filmer, the animal had escaped from a local community centre, and was returned to its owner shortly after.

"I was with two of my friends on a Tuesday night at 7.30pm and all of a sudden the friend who was driving shouted at us to look left so we had a look and couldn't believe our eyes when we saw an emu running up the public road way," the filmer wrote online.

Was with 2 of my friends on a Tuesday night at 7.30pm and all of a sudden the friend who was driving shouted at us to look left so we had a look and couldn't believe our eyes when we saw an emu running up the public road way, we expected it came from the local community tea garden and since then has been returned to the rightful owners safely