Firefighters near Sandbach had a job with a difference at the weekend – rounding up a herd of cows who had broken free from a field!

And residents living in the area at The Moorings in Middlewich had some unusual visitors too – the escaped cows.

Nine young cows escaped from a nearby field and wandered on to houses nearby.

One cow who ended up in the Trent and Mersey canal was rescued by a passers-by.

Fire crews from Lymm, Middlewich and Bollington attended the incident just after 10pm on Saturday night.

A spokesperson from Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service said: "Crews attended and assisted with rounding up the herd and keeping the area safe before to farmer took the cows away in a trailer.

"We do a lot of animal rescue and have specialist animal rescue teams. This particular incident wasn't attended by them though. Bystanders had pulled the young cow from the canal."