A RUNAWAY cow that gave police officers the slip in Blackburn and got stuck in the canal had to be removed by firefighters.

The young cow had managed to flee from Fowler Height Farm, off Heys Lane, and was spotted in Parklands Way by officers in a police patrol car.

They managed to catch it and contain it in a garden nearby but the energetic heifer decided it wanted more of an adventure and made a dash for it.

It broke through fencing and ran off down Brookway, making its way through Moorgate and to the canal.

It became stuck in the canal at Hollin Bridge Street around 3pm and firefighters were called to try and pull the animal out.

Leading firefighter John Leach said: "It had been running amok and the police had been chasing it a while.

"When it got in the canal we were called out and two appliances came from Blackburn and the Incident Support Unit from Hyndburn attended.

"We basically made a lasso and secured it with two ropes and led it along the bank until it got to the shallow area so that it would be easier to get it out

"When it got there it didn't want to get out so we then wrapped some of our hose around it and hauled it out.

"We had got hold of it within about 10 to 15 minutes of arriving but because it wasn't an emergency we didn't want to drive it out and risk injuring it. Luckily it is OK and was not injured.

"We tied it to a post and one of the crews waited with it until the farmer could arrange transport to take it back to the farm. We were there about an hour in total."

It was the first day the nine-month-old heifer had been allowed out into the field at Fowler Height Farm.

A police spokesman said: "A patrol car was driving down the road when this cow just ran out next to them.

"An officer managed to corner the animal in a garden but it was a young cow and had only been in the field for the first time that day so it had probably got spooked. The cow is now back home at the farm."

Farmer's wife Elizabeth Derbyshire today said the heifer had settled down and was back to her normal self.

She said: "We think some boys had been chasing her and she had got upset. She had never seen grass before so it was a big thing for her being in the field for the first time.

"We didn't know she had escaped until the police rang us. She's okay now."