A HEIFER had to be rescued by two fire crews and a six-wheel buggy after getting bogged down in a waterlogged field.

The 18-month-old dairy cow, which weighs 1,000lb, came a cropper on Monday when it wandered into a bog next to a spring.

Tony Morris, who runs Palmers Farm in Rock, had moved his 170-strong cattle herd into the empty Old House Farm in nearby Heightington to feast on fresh grass when the bumbling bovine got that sinking feeling.

"I wasn't aware there was a bog down the bottom of the field," he said. "She wandered into it and sank up to her belly.

"There was no chance she would get out on her own."

Mr Morris, 43, and a colleague spotted the animal and tried to dig it out but were forced to concede defeat. Crews from Kidderminster and Stourport spent an hour and a half setting the beast free.

Firefighters used shovels to dig the mud away and slide straps underneath the "exhausted" cow, which was then eased on to a tarpaulin sheet and finally towed to terra firma.

"It was a big team effort on their part and they did a fantastic job," said Mr Morris.

He added he had not yet decided if his herd would return to his neighbour's farm.