Escaped bull shot by marksman

AN "EXTREMELY dangerous" escaped bull was shot by police yesterday after breaking out of an abattoir and roaming around a town. The animal - which weighed in at over 800kg - made off from the abattoir in Farnborough, Hampshire, at around 2pm, police said.

The bull was deemed to be "extremely dangerous to the public", according to a spokesman for the Hampshire force.

The abattoir called in police after staff were unable to recapture the bull, which roamed around gardens in the town.

One woman, who lives near to the abattoir from which the animal fled, said she had watched from her living room window as the bull was chased along the street.

"I was out in the back garden when I heard a lot of shouting out the front and when I looked there was this massive bull being chased down the road," she said.

"It was a beautiful thing, about 5ft tall and very muscular.

"It was being chased by three or four youths who were throwing things at it.

"They followed it down the road and chased it into a little close with only three bungalows in.

"Then the animal turned on them and started chasing them. The poor thing just looked confused."

When the bull made towards the perimeter of Farnborough airport, police cleared the area.

On the advice of a vet the animal was shot by a police marksman at around 4.45pm.