Horrifying moment a cow falls off a truck on motorway where vehicles are travelling 70mph
A cow has fallen from a lorry into busy traffic on the M6, which has a top speed limit of 70 miles per hour.
Video shows the cow dropping on to the road and skidding towards oncoming traffic - forcing drivers to swerve to the side.
Another cow also broke free two miles away from the first incident.
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As a result, police closed off parts of the M6 for around 90 minutes as they attempted to move the cows off the motorway safely.
“Last thing we want is for them to bolt into moving traffic,” wrote the Central Motorway Police Group (CMPG) on Twitter.
The CMPG also confirmed over Twitter that the two cows were 'injured', although the extent of the injuries is unclear.
There have been no reports of car accidents or any injuries to humans as a result of the incident.
The #M6 is CLOSED between J7 and J10 near #Walsall due to a cow in a live lane.
— National Highways: West Midlands (@HighwaysWMIDS) August 1, 2023
Police are on scene. More info to follow
There are currently delays of 30 mins in both directions. pic.twitter.com/E8xMXRLc86
The cows were then rescued and taken off the motorway.
As the motorway was reopened just after midday, there were delays of up to an hour in both directions, as reported by National Highways: West Midlands.
Kevin Rogers, 52, was on his way to an auction when the bizarre incident unfolded in front of him.
He said: “The cow fell out the bottom of the lorry, the lorry next to it moved and I moved out the way.
“I was the first car coming head-on to it and I managed to miss it.
“Definitely only one cow fell out the lorry but reports read that there were two cows. I think the floor gave way on the bottom and when [the lorry] pulled over when another cow came out.
“You don’t see that every day - my first thought was not to hit it. I didn’t see it fall out the lorry so the first I saw was her sprawling on the road.
"Thankfully I could swerve onto the hard shoulder to get around it.
“It was a complete surprise. When I safely could I messaged my wife and said ‘I've nearly been hit by a falling cow on the motorway’.
"She didn’t believe me. I can’t think why.”
In a follow-up tweet from the CMPG after the incident, the police were thankful to everyone who help.
"Big thank you to the lorry drivers who stopped to help contain the cows as well as HighwaysWMIDS, Traffic WMP, and Firearms WMP.”
"Big thank you to Whitewell Logisitcs Ltd who was in the trapped traffic and offered to help move cows off the carriageway."
Velentina Boulter