A bull trapped for days after falling into a ditch has been rescued by a Royal Navy helicopter. A Search and Rescue Sea King hoisted the animal to safety at a remote farm at Tom-na-dhubh near Stronmilchan in Argyll and Bute.
It was flown for more than a mile slung 100ft below the helicopter back to the farm yard where a vet treated it.
The helicopter crew, based in Prestwick, Ayrshire, was called in by the Scottish SPCA.
The trapped bull was discovered during a routine check by the farmer.
SSPCA animal welfare officers suspected that it had a broken leg and were unable to move it.
The Navy crew helped dig around the animal, which weighed about one tonne, before trussing it in a net.
Scottish SPCA senior inspector John McAvoy said: "We are all very grateful to the Royal Navy for agreeing to help because without them we would have been struggling badly.
'Unusual training'
"It is always wonderful when an operation like this achieves its purpose.
"We are all now hoping and praying for a happy ending."
Michael Mulford, spokesman for the RAF Rescue Centre at Kinloss, which co-ordinated the mission said: "Our brief is for immediate life-saving, but we will always try if we can to help out in an animal welfare rescue.
"The Navy crew were brought in from standby duties and had the benefit of an unusual training opportunity in carrying a heavy load in a net and were delighted to help."
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