Drivers stunned as LLAMA gallops down busy A-road towards them

A search for the woolly animal following the rare sighting was unsuccessful and no one yet knows how it managed to make its way on to a carriageway in North East England

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County Durham: Llama spotted running up busy road

An unusual animal was spotted galloping down the side of road that left motorists stunned.

What appeared to be a llama caused commotion for some drivers making their way along the A66 in Darlington, County Durham.

The large white animal sped along the side of the carriageway way on the outskirts of the town, reports TeessideLive.

Traffic had slowed down and many initially believed there was an accident up ahead causing the delay.

But instead astonished drivers saw the animal, which is native to South America, heading towards them.

One quick-thinking vehicle passenger caught a video of the incident and shared it on social media to alert others, with the tweet quickly going viral.

James Tadman was driving by at the time with his girlfriend Jasmine, who filmed the extraordinary sight on video on Sunday, September 18.

He told TeesideLive: “At first we thought it was a horse and then as it got close we saw it was an alpaca, actually a llama, just running on the A66 westbound towards Blackwell.

“I don’t think I’ll ever see anything like that again.”

He added that many people had stopped their cars at the side of the road as the animal ran past.

Jasmine’s video showed the woolly beast of burden, which is related to alpacas and camels, seemingly in a hurry to go somewhere.

Luckily, it appeared to be sticking to the verge on the side of the road rather than the main carriageway.

The tweet gained more than 4,500 likes and more than 80 comments.

Many users wondered where the llama might have come from while another was impressed by its apparent knowledge of UK road rules and wrote: “Good to see it obeying the Highway Code by staying on the inside of the left hand lane!”

One reply simply quipped: “Sound the alarm-a.”

It has not yet been confirmed where the animal came from and a later search for it was unsuccessful.

There was some confusion over the description of the animal but Durham Police said: “Police were called at around 3.20pm on Sunday (September 18) following reports of an alpaca on the A67 at Scotch Corner.

“Officers carried out a search but the alpaca was no longer in the area.”