A hippopotamus escaped its circus in Spain and gave motorists a fright when it plodded into the road.

The beast stopped traffic when it made its daring dash for freedom in the southern town of Palos de la Frontera on Wednesday night in Huelva province in the south west of the country.

The hippo didn't get very far before it felt peckish and went to munch the grass growing on the central reservation.

Police and staff were able to coral the hippo back into captivity, local media reported.