Police in Northern Ireland saw the funny side after discovering the truth behind reports of a leopard that had escaped from Belfast Zoo.

Earlier this week, a photo went viral on social media that appeared to show something spotted lying on the road in front of a car. At first glance, it might have looked like a leopard to some but the Police Service of Northern Ireland weren't too worried about the social media reports. It turns out that it was no more than a leopard-print dressing gown and, apparently, the photograph wasn't even taken in Belfast. But the PSNI in Newtownabbey have responded to the reports by laughing it off via their own social media. "Reports circulating on social media of a leopard escaping from Belfast Zoo are untrue but it did give us a bit of a chuckle when we saw this post," a PSNI spokesperson wrote on Facebook. "Doing the school run in a hurry let’s keep the speeds down." READ NEXT - There’s a huge Disney-themed brunch coming to a secret Belfast location this summer