Fence put up on Shrewsbury river bank to protect cattle after rescues
An area of river bank in Shrewsbury has been fenced off following an incident where two bullocks had to be rescued by the fire service.
The fence has gone up on Becks Field to stop grazing cattle getting too close to the River Severn, and protect pedestrians and dog walkers. Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service requested that a permanent barrier be put up following the two incidents earlier this month.
On August 10, the Saturday of the Shrewsbury Flower Show, firefighters spent two hours getting a bullock out of the water. There was a repeat incident involving a different bullock just three days later.
The second animal was discovered by Matthew Ashton, from Porthill. After receiving his call, fire service teams started work to winch the animal free. The operation started at about 7pm and was completed at 9pm, as crews had to wait for a vet to sedate the bullock.
At the time, Steve Worrall, assistant chief fire officer for Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service, said the authority had asked landowner Shrewsbury School, which lets the space to Shropshire Council, to put up a fence after the first incident.
A temporary barrier was instal-led, but it was removed before the second incident occurred. However, a fence is now permanently in place after work by Shrewsbury Town Council, which is responsible for looking after the land.
A town council spokesman said: "Shrewsbury Town Council maintains Becks Field on behalf of Shropshire Council. We were alerted to the problems on the river bank involving two young bullocks and a fence has now been installed to prevent further incidents."
Jon Taylor, head of estates for Shrewsbury School, said: "We are pleased that the cows are safe."