A dash for freedom

TWO cows took to their heels to escape captivity from a Seend farm, but ended up in the Kennet & Avon Canal.

The  cows escaped from a field  when a gate was left open, so made a mile dash in the middle of the night straight into the waterway at Sells Green.

Splashing at 2am

It was a boater on a narrowboat  who heard splashing at 2am on Monday, and spotted the cows in the water, and so contacted the emergency services, with fire fighters from Devizes arriving together  with a crew from Amesbury trained in animal rescues.

But the young animals gave their would-be rescuers the slip by paddling away.

The rescue was hampered by moored boats, but ropes were stretch across the waterway and the two cows were eventually caught, then halters were put on the beasts, but it needed many fire fighters to drag them out of the canal.