A mole walks into a shop, no this isn't the start of a joke, it's what happened at Poundstretcher in Stowmarket.

Staff and customers were left shocked to see the animal stop by to browse for a bargain last week.

Judi Brewis, who was working in the store when the mole was discovered, said: "It's not something that happens often!

"I was working in the shop and one my colleagues was on the tills and all of a sudden I heard her calling me.

"I thought someone maybe fell over or had an accident or fainted, so I rushed over to the front and she said 'it's a mole!'

"I said 'what's a mole?' she said 'I've got mole!'"

The staff member was able to get a photo of the unexpected customer, who popped into the shop, in Combs Lane, Combs Ford, on Tuesday, February 1.

Recalling what happened next, Judi said: "She had her hands cupped around it, to stop it from running anywhere. It's concrete floor, apparently it just walked in the front door.

"I've never seen a mole before so I was quite fascinated. The fur and everything is just beautiful and he was so clean.

"He would've had to have crossed the road to come into our shop."

Moles can sometimes venture above ground for a few different reasons such as if their underground tunnel path is blocked, to search for new food supplies or if their tunnel becomes waterlogged or caved-in.

Not wanting to make a mountain out of a molehill, Judi said a staff member "took him back outside as far away from the shop as possible and far away from the road and tipped him into the bushes."

It is not clear what attracted the mole to this particular shop, maybe it was just thirsty and wanted a coca-mole-a.

It is not the first animal shopping trip in the town to turn heads, with police officers spotting a mother duck and her 11 ducklings out and about in the town in 2019.

The scene too caused some amusement for passers-by, with Stowmarket Police tweeting that the duck and her babies were “out shopping”.