Operation runaway cow: Four marksmen, eight police officers and five patrol cars to catch and gun down (after several misses)

Two police marksmen with high-powered sniper rifles crouched on top of a van in the grounds of a primary school, shooting to kill.

In the car park lurked their target, cornered at last after a four-mile chase.

The target’s identity? One rather unfortunate Belgian Blue cow, who had wandered out of her field earlier in the day.

The escaped Belgian Blue was 'dispatched' after it became aggressive near a primary school

Police marksmen were seen on top of a van near to the scene - they missed their target on the first shot but killed the cow on the second

But her great escape turned into a full-blown armed siege, after Lincolnshire Police sent four marksmen, one sergeant, five unarmed officers and two PCSOs, travelling in five patrol cars and a police van, to track her down.

Back at base, a superintendent, a tactical adviser and three support staff oversaw the operation, which ended with the cow being killed.

 

Witnesses claim the first two shots missed, although officers insist they simply failed to bring the animal down.

Police were yesterday accused of being ‘trigger happy’ for their heavy-handed approach, with more than 2,000 people joining a Facebook group set up in memory of the runaway cow.

The Belgian Blue, generally a  docile breed, was first spotted just before 3pm on Monday, roaming in residential roads less than a mile from the centre of Grantham.

Children and school staff nearby were evacuated while the cow was dealt with

Police were called after members of the public said she had started to charge at them.

A patrol car chased the animal for four miles and she became increasingly distressed, eventually jumping a fence into the car park of Belton Lane Community Primary School at around 5pm. Its 170 pupils had been evacuated earlier and moved to a safer area before leaving for  the day, and only the head teacher and a few staff remained.

Police set up a 20-metre exclusion zone and two of the marksmen were instructed to kill.

The first two shots, fired from a distance, failed to bring the animal down. The van was driven closer and the marksmen shot twice more, eventually killing the cow.

While some locals said they were pleased police had dealt with the animal before she harmed anyone, others said they were over-zealous.

One, Theo Charity, said: ‘I can’t believe they felt they needed to take a sniper shot at a cow. They are so docile. It’s not like it was a ravenous bear stalking Grantham.’ Lincolnshire Police said it had spoken to the RSPCA and the owner, who gave his permission for the cow to be shot.

Superintendent Phil Vickers said it was ‘regrettable’ the cow had been killed. ‘We tried everything we could to capture the animal but it became increasingly distressed, aggressive and unpredictable.

‘Our first priority at all times was for public safety.