Elderly man 'seriously' hurt after attack by 'dangerously out of control' cow in Carmarthenshire

An elderly man has suffered "serious" injuries after being attacked and trampled by a "dangerously out of control" cow, police have confirmed.

Dyfed-Powys Police were called to Whitland in Carmarthenshire at around 10:15am on Saturday (November 19).

It came after reports that a cow had escaped from Whitland Mart and made its way to the town centre.

The man was airlifted to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff following the incident.

A force spokeswoman for Dyfed-Powys Police explained: "The cow had escaped from Whitland Mart, and made its way to the centre of the village. It came across an elderly man in North Road, where it attacked and trampled him, causing serious injury.

"The cow then went on the rail track in the area, and trains had to be put on stop to mitigate the danger to them.

"Eventually, it made its way to a field, where every effort was made to safely contain it in consultation with the owner.

"Unfortunately, all attempts failed, and due to the danger posed by the animal it was humanely dispatched with the consent of the owner", police added.

A Health and Safety Executive since confirmed they were aware of the incident and initial enquires are being made.

A spokesman for Wales Air Ambulance said: "Our Dafen-based crew were mobile at 10.37am and arrived on scene at 10.53am.

"Following treatment from our onboard medics, we airlifted a patient to hospital. Our involvement concluded at 1.20pm."