This was the incredible scene that a Burnham-On-Sea fire crew found when they were called out to rescue a cow with its head stuck in a tree on Thursday (November 16th) – an incident that crews have described as one of their most unusual for over 30 years.
Fire crews from Burnham-On-Sea, Cheddar, Bridgwater, a specialist rescue team from Bridgwater and an animal rescue tactical advisor were all sent to The Kingsway in the village of Mark near Burnham-On-Sea at 9am on Thursday.
A concerned farmer had raised the alarm after finding the animal stranded with its head stuck inside the willow tree, as pictured here.
Fire officer Mike Renshaw told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “The farmer had called us out after finding his two year-old heffer with its head firmly stuck in the hollow trunk of the tree.”
“Cows often use the trees to rub themselves, but this one pushed its head in a little too far and got stuck.”
“In the end, we managed to encourage the cow out of the tree by gently hitting its breast plate to startle it.”
“The cow was unharmed when it was released. If that hadn’t worked, we were intending to use hydraulic separating equipment.”
“The incident will certainly be remembered for years to come – it was an incredible sight!”
Burnham fire officer Ian Hazleton told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “In all my 30 years of being a fireman I have never seen anything like this. We’ve had some unusual call-outs, but never a cow stuck in a tree!”
