Runaway cow gets trapped on tennis court for more than ten hours
- last year
This is the moment an escaped cow caused chaos after getting trapped on a tennis court for more than ten hours.
Members of Market Harborough Tennis Club were left scratching their heads when they arrived to play and found the heifer stuck in the middle of their main court.
Mystery surrounds how the cow managed to make its way into the tennis club last Thursday (23/3) as a key-code is required to access the gate.
Comical photos and video footage show the ten-month-old calf wandering around the courts - before even trying to head into the club house.
With the help of owner Vickie Gillespie, her dad, police officers and local residents, the cow was safely returned unharmed to its field in Great Bowden, Leics.
Vickie said: “Lots of parents and children were gathering to take photos and see the new tennis enthusiast.
"But this did upset her slightly so after backing up the trailer as close to the courts as dad could, we cleared the area of spectators.
"With much needed help from some general public and a policeman we formed a human wall to get her out of the courts and into the trailer.
"The odd thing is that, as cows are herd animals, they don't often wander off by themselves
"It might just be a one-off and she might have been feeling brave.
"She was not hurt at all. She's a very calm cow in general.
“Everyone was incredibly calm, quiet and patient which was the key to getting her in safely and preventing her running out on to the road.
"I am incredibly grateful to those that helped; things like this can go very wrong very quickly.
“We took her back to the farm to prevent her retracing her steps and this time taking the rest of the herd with her for a Wimbledon cow special.
“I'm still hoping the mystery is solved on how she got in there."
Adam Shepherd, chairman of Great Bowden Parish Council, also attended the scene to aid with the rescue effort.
He told Harborough FM: "We actually thought it was an early April Fool's joke.
"I went down and heard the cow before I saw it but lo and behold there was actually a cow stood in the middle of the tennis court.
"We have no idea how it got there or why it was there. It was just stood there mooing and walking round and seemed to be having the time of its life.
"We checked the fences and there was no obvious means of entry and nothing seemed to be broken.
"So unless the cow had the code to the gate we figure a member of the public must have let it in for some reason.
"The farmer came down with his daughter and there were a number of members of the public who helped coax the cow out safely into a trailer in the car park.
"The cow was absolutely fine and was returned back to its field."
Members of Market Harborough Tennis Club were left scratching their heads when they arrived to play and found the heifer stuck in the middle of their main court.
Mystery surrounds how the cow managed to make its way into the tennis club last Thursday (23/3) as a key-code is required to access the gate.
Comical photos and video footage show the ten-month-old calf wandering around the courts - before even trying to head into the club house.
With the help of owner Vickie Gillespie, her dad, police officers and local residents, the cow was safely returned unharmed to its field in Great Bowden, Leics.
Vickie said: “Lots of parents and children were gathering to take photos and see the new tennis enthusiast.
"But this did upset her slightly so after backing up the trailer as close to the courts as dad could, we cleared the area of spectators.
"With much needed help from some general public and a policeman we formed a human wall to get her out of the courts and into the trailer.
"The odd thing is that, as cows are herd animals, they don't often wander off by themselves
"It might just be a one-off and she might have been feeling brave.
"She was not hurt at all. She's a very calm cow in general.
“Everyone was incredibly calm, quiet and patient which was the key to getting her in safely and preventing her running out on to the road.
"I am incredibly grateful to those that helped; things like this can go very wrong very quickly.
“We took her back to the farm to prevent her retracing her steps and this time taking the rest of the herd with her for a Wimbledon cow special.
“I'm still hoping the mystery is solved on how she got in there."
Adam Shepherd, chairman of Great Bowden Parish Council, also attended the scene to aid with the rescue effort.
He told Harborough FM: "We actually thought it was an early April Fool's joke.
"I went down and heard the cow before I saw it but lo and behold there was actually a cow stood in the middle of the tennis court.
"We have no idea how it got there or why it was there. It was just stood there mooing and walking round and seemed to be having the time of its life.
"We checked the fences and there was no obvious means of entry and nothing seemed to be broken.
"So unless the cow had the code to the gate we figure a member of the public must have let it in for some reason.
"The farmer came down with his daughter and there were a number of members of the public who helped coax the cow out safely into a trailer in the car park.
"The cow was absolutely fine and was returned back to its field."