A PAIR of emus have now been reunited with their "devastated" owner after escaping and making their way to a veterinary clinic and scaring customers. 

The large birds, Dini and Blu, fled their field through a damaged fence and wandered to EdgeWood Veterinary Group in Purleigh, Chelmsford Road.

Clients spotted the birds in the car park of the clinic with some frightened customers running away from the emus and into the safety of their cars.

Before long vets posted images of the emus on social media in the hope of alerting their owner, although the surgery was initially worried nobody would come forward.

The owner of Maldon Promenade Zoo, Craig Williams, saw the post on Facebook and reached out to the clinic to see if they needed help.

Maldon and Burnham Standard: Towering: emus in the car parkTowering: emus in the car park (Image: EdgeWood Veterinary Group)

Zoo owners Craig and James then travelled to the clinic before picking up the emus in their trailer and transporting them back to the zoo in Promenade Park where they were held safely until the owner came forward.

Lucia Muralyi has now been reunited with her unusual but beloved pets.

James, from the zoo, said: “On Tuesday we saw the post on Facebook that the emus had turned up at the Purleigh vets.

“Craig reached out to see if they needed help and we ended up going to get them on a trailer in the pouring rain.

“The owner only lived up the road from Purleigh vets and found that one of her fences had been damaged during the storm and she hadn’t realised.

“She was distraught when she was reunited with them. We transported her back yesterday afternoon.”

Nicola Watson, nurse manager at EdgeWood Veterinary Group, is delighted the emus are now back where they belong.

She added: “We were a little worried when, after contacting as many people as we could in this unusual situation and posting on local social media sites, no one seemed to know anything.

"We are just so pleased that the owner came forward and they are now safely home."