Pregnant cow is rescued by the fire brigade after getting stuck in a 3ft garden swimming pool taking a dip

A pregnant cow had to be airlifted to safety after plunging into a residential swimming pool.

Firefighters were called to rescue the heifer after she was found stuck in 3ft of water in the garden of a house overlooking farmland.

Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service crews had to part-drain the pool at Ketton, Rutland, on Monday afternoon before the cow could be removed.

Crews formulated a 'rescue plan' with the farmer which saw the cow lifted from the pool using a specialist downer cow harness, designed to protect the heifer and her udders.

Farm machinery was used to hoist the 93-stone (589kg) cow to safety.

A spokesman said the pregnant heifer 'had checked herself in for a spa day. The only problem is, she couldn't check herself out'.

The animal suffered a cut to the front leg but was otherwise found by a vet to be 'fit and well'.

'The farmer has arranged for her to be kept an eye on,' the spokesman added.

Crews from Southern Fire Station in Leicester and Oakham Fire Station attended the unusual incident.

Incidents of cows falling into swimming pools are thankfully rare, but have happened before.

In April 2022, a 600kg bullock had to be hoisted out of a swimming pool after the young bovine escaped a local field on a farm in Devon.

Three crews from Paignton, Torquay and Exmouth fire stations were called out to hoist the animal from deep water in the Paignton area of South Devon.

The bullock was up to his neck in the dark waters, but remained calm while firefighters executed a late night rescue mission in the dark.

It was later deemed 'safe and well' after being pulled from the pool using a harness while a vet waited in the wings to keep an eye on the animal's wellbeing.

Meanwhile, in April 2017 the Bigge family watched on in disbelief as a cow from a nearby farm headed towards their outdoor pool in search of a drink, but instead plunged straight through the cover and into the water.

The unusual incident unfurled at their home 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.

Away from swimming pools, in August 2024 a herd of 40 calves was dramatically rescued by a hero vet who staged a midnight race against the tide to guide them to safety.

Polly Dugmore bravely jumped into action after the ten-week old animals broke out of Bodrugan Barton Farm, in Cornwall, and found themselves stranded on rocks at Colona Beach with a rising tide.

The vet pulled on a wetsuit and lifejacket before leading the calves off the rocks and swimming with them to shore while her partner, Robin Kendall, 35, and his father, Tim, 64, marshalled them from a boat and the beach.

The two-hour rescue mission was challenging because it was done in the early hours of the morning when it was dark.