AN ACUTE physician came to the rescue of a Highland cow during an emergency of a different kind while walking in the Lake District.

Worried onlookers had tried to free the creature, whose distinctive long horns were trapped in a wire fence, but they had retreated as the long-haired cow became distressed.

Fortunately, Dr Adnan Gebril happened to be fell-walking near Slater's Bridge in Little Langdale with colleagues from Salford Royal Hospital - and he saved the day with his calm bedside manner and a Swiss Army knife.

"He works as an acute physician so this really was a completely different type of emergency to what he deals with day-to-day," said colleague Dr Richard Warner, who lives in Windermere with his wife Rachel, also a doctor at Salford.

"My colleague, Dr Adnan Gebril, calmly approached the cow and calmed it down before cutting the wires to release it. He was met with a huge round of applause from the concerned onlookers after getting out of the field."

Dr Gebril has carried a Swiss Army knife for 15 years and this was the first time he had used it, said Dr Warner, adding: "We work on the emergency assessment unit in Salford and he is a very calm and collected person anyway. He is very reassuring to his patients."

- Dr Gebril hung his black jacket on a post near Slater's Bridge while freeing the cow, and later realised it had gone missing. If you have found it, please email rachel.kitchen@nqnw.co.uk