FIREFIGHTERS spent four hours rescuing a young bull from a slurry pit at a Lake District farm yesterday.

Teams from Kendal and Ambleside were called to the Grasmere farm, at around 11am on Saturday, after receiving a report that a bull, weighing around one tonne, had 'fallen through a hole in the floor'.

A Cumbria Fire spokesman said: "It was a hard lift because of the dangers of slurry pits.

"The hole was only about two metres by one metre wide, but we had to make it bigger to get the bull out.

"Crews had to take the safety of the animal, which was obviously distressed, and themselves into account."

The roof of the barn had to be removed so crews could lift the bull vertically using strops and the farmer's tractor. Attempts to winch the animal were unsuccessful.