Rampaging cows cause road mayhem

11:53am Saturday 6th September 2008

Comments (0)   Have your say »

A HERD of rampaging cows caused a series of traffic collisions on the A591 near Kendal last night, which left three of the animals dead and four people injured.

The mayhem was caused after 36 heifers escaped on to the road from a field near Brettargh Holt at around 10.45pm.

The cows ran on to both carriageways, causing three separate collisions with passing cars.

Three of the injured people were taken to Lancaster Royal Infirmary but their injuries were not thought to be life threatening. Police said the cars they were travelling were severely damaged by the collisions.

A passing vet helped deal with the injured and dying heifers, while other motorists stopped to help the police and a local farmer to herd the remaining beasts into another field.

The A591 was blocked in both directions for more than an hour before two lanes could be re-opened to traffic. The road fully re-opened at 1.30am this morning after recovery of the damaged vehicles and removal of the three dead animals.

Sergeant Jo Fawcett, of Cumbria Police’s Road Traffic Unit, said: “I would like to thank those people who stopped to help in various ways – from the folk who helped to contain and subsequently move the heifers to a passing vet who stopped to deal with the injured animals, as well as the local farmer who spent a good deal of time to help us move the animals and provide a safe place for them, despite them not being his cattle. Without this assistance the police's job would have been far more difficult.”