Firefighters rescue cow from Shropshire farm slurry pit

The heifer had been trapped in the 10ft wide slurry lagoon on the farm in Moreton Wood, Whitchurch, for some time.

Firefighters were called at about 8.10pm yesterday and took about an hour-and-a-half to rescue the animal.

The cow was too weak to stand by the time it was rescued but the vet was hopeful it would recover.

Watch manager Craig Jackson, from Wellington fire station, said specialist rescue teams had been called in to free the cow, which weighed about 400kg.

He said: "We had five animal rescue specialists there from Wellington and about six firefighters from Market Drayton.

"The cow was pretty tired and had a lot of cuts because it had been swimming around in the slurry pit for a while.

"It was exhausted, so when we lifted it out it couldn't stand by itself.

"We had to put it on some slide sheets and take it to a barn.

"The vet and the owner were going to clean it down and assess it.

"It was quite a young cow so they were hoping it would be okay."

The firefighters had to drain the slurry into a nearby field before lifting the cow out of the slurry pit with a crane on the back of the specialist rescue vehicle which is based at Wellington.

The county's animal rescue specialists are also based at Wellington, and were supported by firefighters from Market Drayton fire station.

The rescue operation ended at 9.40pm.

It's not the first time Shropshire's firefighters have had to rescue cows from sticky situations in recent months.

In August, visitors to Shrewsbury Flower Show watched on as a cow got itself wedged into a tight spot on the river bank near Shrewsbury School's boat house.

And in September, firefighters were again called to rescue a cow which got its head stuck in a gate in Old Potts Way in Shrewsbury.