Escaped cow holds up A24 traffic in rush hour

An escaped cow caused a build-up of rush-hour traffic on a major road through Surrey and Sussex as police tried to catch the animal.

Police officers were called to reports of the creature running along the A24 in Horsham, West Sussex, at 0730 BST.

A spokeswoman said there were substantial traffic jams as the cow escaped twice before being secured in a field in Station Road about 0845 BST.

Pc Jason Martin said initial reports that the beast was a bull were wrong.

Closer inspection revealed it was a cow with small horns.

The cow had been running towards Dorking.

"This is a very busy road and we are grateful that a serious collision was avoided," Pc Martin said.

"I would like to thank the public for their patience as we tried to contain the cow."