A missing porcupine has prompted a police appeal to trace its owners. 

Officers found the rodent at the junction of Clare Road and Snow Hill in Clare at about 1.30am on Tuesday. 

Writing on social media, Haverhill police said it was lost in a garden. 

It is not the first time that porcupines have been spotted near Clare. 

East Anglian Daily Times: A porcupine was spotted between Clare and Bury St Edmunds in 2021A porcupine was spotted between Clare and Bury St Edmunds in 2021 (Image: Alice Lily Finn)

A group of three were spotted on the road between the small Suffolk town and Bury St Edmunds in September 2021. 

Speaking at the time, Alice Lily Finn, who saw the creature, said: "I found somewhere to turn around, so we could both verify that it was a porcupine we saw and also that it was okay and not injured.

"I told my partner to take a picture, as no-one would believe that we saw one.

"Then two others appeared. It was totally bizarre. I also took the opportunity to take some of the quills off of the road."

Anyone who finds a porcupine in Suffolk is recommended not to approach the animal, but to call the RSPCA instead.