Police were forced to tackle a life-size model of a hippo that had been left in the middle of a road, blocking traffic.

       Officers were called to the scene after the large model caused congestion in the North Wales seaside town of Rhyl.

       Footage showed a man climbing onto the grey hippo as two marked police cars arrived. The member of the public then pretended to ride the fake animal before dismounting it as the officers approached.

       The officers then grappled with the model to remove it from the road.

       A video posted on social media was overlaid with the caption “police arrest hippo on a night out”. Passer-by Josh Taylor shared the video on TikTok and said: “Only in Rhyl would you come across a hippo in the middle of the road.”

       Mr Taylor claimed it had come from the Children’s Village, a play centre, and had been left in the road for around 20 minutes before police arrived.

       He added: “This was around this time last year, but I’ve never posted it until now. It came from over the road at the Rhyl Children’s Village. We saw a group of lads carrying it across the road, so I started recording.”

       Last year, a giant gorilla statue – nicknamed Gary the Gorilla – was stolen from a Lanarkshire garden centre last year was discovered in a layby. The 8ft (2.4m) fibreglass ornament was reported missing from Reynard Nursery in Carluke last March 2023.

       Gary was eventually returned to its rightful owner after being discovered next to a motorway in Scotland.

       North Wales Police was contacted for comment.