A Charolais bull calf was rescued twice in the space of a few minutes by members of the PSNI boat crew based at Enniskillen.

The rescue operation began when a distress call was received shortly after 6 o'clock on Wednesday. The Lady Grey II was prepared for action and, crewed by Constables Gavin Huey, coxswain, and Melanie Hicks, the vessel motored out to Derryvullen, opposite Cleenish Island where they located the bull calf.

Constable Huey described the scene: "The calf was in a state of exhaustion and some distress as it was trapped in mud beyond its shoulders.

"Its eyes were rolling in its head and it looked as if he would not least much longer. With a bit of difficulty, we managed to get a line tied to the calf, trying as best we could not to cause injury. We then towed him into deeper water where he could swim, and released him to get back to dry land.

"Unfortunately, the calf was in a very confused state and headed back to the same spot and got stuck again, so we had to tow him downstream a bit. When we found a stony shoreline, we were able to pull the calf by hand on to dry land".

Asked about the bizarre nature of their rescue mission, Constable Huey remarked: "The Summer can be a busy time on Lough Erne and, while this was indeed one of our more unusual missions, we were glad to come to the aid."