East Barkwith runaway rhea found safe and well after drone search

In a post on social media, the drone charity, which offers a free service and relies on donations, said the rescue had been successful, with a “great bunch of people helping [out]”.

“Everything worked out extremely well and this beautiful bird is now home safe,” it added.

Phil James, who started the charity, said they had managed to locate the rhea within about an hour of being called out on Monday.

However, initial attempts to catch the 5ft (1.5m) rhea with a net had failed after it “legged it” across the field at about 40mph (64km/h).

After returning on Tuesday with more people, Mr James said the bird was caught in what he described as one of the most challenging rescues he had ever been involved with.

“We had luck on out side and it ran almost to where we wanted it to go,” he said.

The team used thermal imaging drones to locate Buzz, who was sedated by a vet before being returned home.

“It’s exactly the same [equipment] as what the police use to find criminals hiding in bushes and things – we just use [it] to find animals,” he added.