A runaway ostrich that eluded police caused severe damage after attacking a Mercedes during a three-hour rampage.

"Somehow it got out of its pen. We sent two patrols after it, but in the meantime it caused some damage to the bonnet and bumper of a Mercedes before we caught it," a police official in Cyprus said.

The ostrich caused major damage when it attacked the car, the daily Phileleftheros

"It took us more than three hours to catch it," the police official said.