Calf stuck in underground pipe rescued by farmer Published duration 2 October 2019

media caption Calf rescued from water pipe by farmer

A three-week-old Aberdeen Angus calf has been saved following a major operation to rescue it from an underground water pipe.

Farmer Robert Osborne and stockman Iain Robertson said they struggled for two-and-a-half hours to get the calf free.

The alarm was raised on Tuesday after the Durisdeer farmer said he heard the animal making noises in the field.

He said they were eventually able to locate and free the calf, nick-named Trouble, with the help of a digger.

Mr Osborne said he had not initially believed it was possible for the calf to get into the pipe.

"When I did realise it was in, it sounded really close," he said.

"I thought it was not that far away but I got the torch and I couldn't see it."

The whole rescue operation was captured on film by his daughter Grace Tait Osborne.

She told BBC Radio Scotland's John Beattie programme how the incident had unfolded.

image copyright Grace Tait Osborne image caption Mr Osborne said he had not initially thought it was possible for the calf to get stuck down the hole

image copyright Grace Tait Osborne image caption Mr Osborne's daughter captured the rescue operation on film

image copyright Grace Tait Osborne image caption Robert Osborne, right, and Iain Robertson struggled for hours to get the calf free

"I don't know why it went into the water pipe, it was obviously just exploring and got itself a wee bit stuck," she said.

"It's a pretty big calf, it had obviously gone in and it was unable to turn itself back round to come out.

"So it had kept walking straight down hoping to get out of the other end but it ended up just getting itself stuck deeper in the water pipe."

After hearing the animal's cries, Mr Osborne and Mr Robertson began digging holes to get better access to the distressed calf.

Eventually, they used a box attached to a rope to help them drag the calf to safety.

'Closer eye'

"Two-and-a-half hours it took us," said Mr Osborne.

"It's not really about the value," he added.

"Farmers get bad enough press for looking after their animals, but 99.9% of farmers do look after their animals.

"It is a nice wee calf."

Miss Osborne said the animal appeared to be none the worse for its adventure.

"He is up in the shed with his mum now, they are both back together," she said.

"They have been taken out of the field and put in a shed for now just so they can keep a closer eye on the calf."