A MOB of emus is on the run in western Sydney and drivers and residents have been warned to keep an eye out.

The feathered fugitives are believed to have escaped from a former Defence-owned site in Cranebrook late last year after the perimeter fence was vandalised, the Daily Telegraph reports  

Stunned locals have reported sightings in Werrington, St Marys and Ropes Crossing.

Police at St Marys say they have received a number of complaints about damage to properties in the past few months.

"The damage an emu would do to your car would be worse than a kangaroo," one police officer told the Penrith Press.

Lend Lease, which manages the former ADI site and has an animal management plan that ensures the safety and welfare of the animals, has been working with the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, WIRES and the RSPCA to return the emus.

Penrith Greens councillor Michelle Tormey said: "The community would like to know what's happening. The emus seem to keep coming out and ... it's an issue of animal welfare and human welfare too."

REad more at the Daily Telegraph