KAcanalTIMES

Cows in K&A Canal night time rescue

Two cows escaped from a field near Seend in the early hours of yesterday morning — but their bid for freedom ended after only a mile when they fell into the K&A Canal near Sells Green and had to be rescued.  A boater heard the commotion as the cows struggled in vain to get out of the canal and called the Fire Service.

Safe ashore: Picture by Pete Cole, Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

Shortly after 2am yesterday (14 October 2010) Wiltshire firefighters were called to Sells Green where they found the two dairy cows that had escaped from a field at Knightsmead Farm at Inmarsh near Seend in a distressed state and reluctant to be rescued.

Tom Brolan, a rural safety officer, and firefighters from Amesbury who are trained in animal rescues soon arrived on the scene and used an inflatable dinghy to follow the cows. They managed to get a rope onto the animals and coaxed them to the bank.

Tom Brolan said: “The cows are not used to being handled so they moved to the other side of the canal from where we were and were paddling away from the firefighters — and there were a few moored boats that hampered us.

   “In the end we managed to put lines around the back of each cow and brought them towards us and we put halters around their necks to protect their heads and five or six firefighters pulled them up the bank."

    Graham Hibbert from Hales vets in Chippenham checked the cows over and declared them to be in good health.

     The cows' owners were identified by the numbers on their ear tags and they were returned to the farm.

Their owner, David A’bear, said “What the fire brigade did was far beyond the call of duty — and I am also very grateful to the person on the barge who called the fire service."