Bull rescue - in pictures

These are the dramatic pictures of the moment a bullock was hoisted to safety at a Shropshire farm after falling 12ft down a well.

The animal is believed to have stumbled into the well at Forton Farm, Montford Bridge, near Shrewsbury, at about 4pm on Saturday. The farm's owner Chris Everall said he had called his friend with a JCB to help with the large-scale rescue effort which also involved Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service.

Mr Everall said the young bullock became trapped at the bottom of the well after falling about 10ft to 12ft.

He said: "I was counting my cattle and realised I was one short.

"I thought it must have swam across the river but then I saw it had fallen down the well.

"The well is about three feet in diameter and he had fallen down about 10 to 12ft to the bottom.

"He was either pushed by one of the other cattle or must have slipped back and into it."

Mr Everall added: "He was curled round like a dog at the bottom – you could hardly see him.

"I called Brian Bebb from Melverley and he brought his JCB.

"We pulled back the wall of the well until we got level with him and then the fire service managed to put a sling underneath him to the front and back and then lifted him up."

Mr Everall said he initially feared that the bullock may have been seriously injured but said he had been checked over by a vet at the scene and appeared to be making a good recovery from his ordeal.

He said: "When we got him on to the ground he tried to get up but he couldn't.

"But I went back at about 8pm with a bucket of water and he was back on his feet."

Mr Everall said the bullock was still slightly lame from the fall but was able to stand up and move around and was eating and drinking as normal.

He said he wanted to thank Mr Bebb and the firefighters for their hard work in bringing his animal to safety.

A spokeswoman for Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service said one engine from Shrewsbury, the rescue tender and incident commander from Shrewsbury all attended the scene after being called just before 4pm.

She said crews used specialist equipment to hoist the bullock out of the well before leaving at about 6.50pm.

By Russell Roberts