As a regular on the towpath between Slawit and Marsden I’m hoping to catch a glimpse of the Colne Valley’s latest celebrity.

The Examiner has reported that a wallaby has been spotted in the area twice within the last week, hopping along Marsden Lane and bouncing down the towpath at West Slaithwaite.

A few years ago I was thrilled to see another large, wild animal in the Colne Valley.

I was out walking at Merrydale when I saw a deer about 50 yards away.

It crashed out of a hedgerow and ran up a hill before standing at the top looking startled. I managed to get a few long-range pictures of the deer but couldn’t get close enough to take a proper snap before it sped off into the undergrowth again.

Despite my photographic incompetence, it was still a thrill to see such a large wild animal a mere 10 minutes’ walk from my front door.

But that brief glimpse of a deer would be nothing compared with the excitement of seeing such an exotic beast as a wallaby (seen right) in these parts.

It is thought that the animal in question may be Billy, a mischievous marsupial who escaped from a farm in 2010 before being recaptured.

This being the Colne Valley, the wallaby had better watch out or some kind of festival in his honour will be set up, with citizens of one of the area’s villages taking it upon themselves to dress up as marsupials one Saturday each year.

Purely on the grounds of alliteration, it really should be Marsden.