A DONKEY found grazing in the middle of a major road in North Yorkshire was rescued and returned to its owner earlier today (July 1).

Shortly before 7am this morning, North Yorkshire Police received a call from a member of the public who had found a donkey grazing on the central reservation of the A64 near Whitwell.

The quick-thinking individual and his partner managed to restrain the donkey and encouraged it into a nearby bus stop where they tethered him and called police for assistance.

Officers attended the scene and once they were happy the donkey was in no danger, they set about trying to locate his owner.

A few door knocks later it became apparent that Murphy, the donkey, had escaped from a nearby field. 

His owner came and took him safely back to his field, where he soon settled down for a rest after his morning adventure. Murphy was checked over and had come to no harm.

"We'd like to say a big thank you to the members of the public who rescued Murphy and called us for help," a police spokesperson said.