Bizarre moment cow has to be saved from drowning after falling into family's swimming pool

This is the bizarre moment a cow was saved from drowning after it fell into a stunned family's swimming pool .
Martin Bigge, his wife Lisa and their children Holly, 10, and James, 8, were having a quiet night in when they noticed the calf wander into their back garden from a neighbouring field.
They watched in disbelief as the bovine intruder headed towards the outdoor pool in search of a drink and plunged straight through the cover and into the water.
Neighbour Jon Royce used a cattle rope to lasso the animal and lead it towards the shallow end where it could stand up.

Mr Royce and Mr Bigge, a tennis club groundsman, used the rope to keep its head above water while they waited for the fire service to arrive at the property in the village of Plush, near Dorchester, Dorset.
The stranded creature was rescued an hour after it fell in by a fire crew from Dorchester and two technical rescue crews from Poole.



Mr Bigge, 43, said: "It was pretty funny having to call the fire brigade and tell them there was a cow in my swimming pool. I've certainly never seen anything like that before.
"It was my son James' birthday on Sunday and we had a busy day out so Monday we decided to just stay in, and it's just as well we did.

 
"We were playing a game in the house and I went to get up and saw a cow in the garden through the window.
"We all watched as it crossed the garden heading straight for the pool and jumped in.
"The pool had a cover on it so we were worried it could get stuck. The next door neighbour gave us a hand and got a rope for moving cattle.
"We put it round its neck and used that to get it to the shallow end. It was treading water and when we got it to the shallow end it was able to stand up so it was quite safe and we were just trying to keep its head above water.

"The first crew turned up after about 20 minutes but we had to wait for the specialist technical team and once they arrived they got it out within minutes.
"The calf seemed fine once they got it out. They are quite inquisitive, the older ones usually come up to the gate, say hello and then move on but I guess this one wanted a drink or something.
"It got through the hedge and walked straight toward the pool.
"It bent down to drink and thought it could tread on the cover then realised it was sinking and tried to jump.



"The kids loved it, they were straight on their iPads taking photos and videos."

The calf's owner, dairy farmers the Hiscock family, came round to collect the cow and take it back to the field.
Mrs Bigge, 39, a marketing executive, said: "It just went straight back into the field with the other cows like nothing had happened.
"I think it was far more exciting for us than the cow and the farmers."

A Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Service spokesman said: "We were called at 7:06pm by the occupier who reported that there was a young cow in the swimming pool.
"A crew from Dorchester and two technical rescue crews from Poole attended to get the cow out of the pool.



"It took some time to get the crews there but the cow was rescued by 8pm and we believe it was handed over to the owners unharmed."