Police in Northumbria area in northeast England deployed marksmen, aerial support and 15 to 20 cars, closing roads in a bid to keep three runaway cows off a busy road.
Three cows escaped from the Rising Sun Farm in Wallsend, though two were later recaptured, the Chronical reported.
However, the manager of the farm later said that it did not have any cows.
A spokesman for Northumbria Police was quoted as saying, "At just before 2.25pm on May 17 police received a report of cows in the road on Wiltshire Drive, Wallsend, heading towards the Coast Road. Police attended the scene to locate the cows which had escaped from the nearby Rising Sun Country Park."
"One cow was located on a field near the Coast Road. The Coast Road was closed in both directions to allow attempts to be made to recover the cow. However, the cow was in a highly distressed state and considered to be a significant risk to members of the public and motorists," he said.
Police shot dead the cow following a massive operation involving armed officers and a helicopter.
Up to 20 police cars were reported at a field where armed police were tracking the brown cow.
Resident Barry Aitchison said people were watching police deal with the cow. He claimed armed officers then asked to enter his house to shoot the animal from an upstairs window but that there was not enough room for them to do so.
Aitchison said: "It was wrong for the police to kill a cow.
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