'Silly' sheep gets head stuck in Hertfordshire stile Published duration 1 July 2016

image copyright RSPCA image caption Instead of walking around the gate, the sheep decided it would be a better idea to put her head through it

A ewe was left looking "pretty sheepish" after getting her head firmly wedged in a stile.

The "distressed" sheep was spotted "stuck fast" in the middle of a field near Ware in Hertfordshire on Thursday.

"She wasn't the smartest in the flock," RSPCA rescuer Kate Wright said.

"There's no fence most of the way along the field, yet she managed to find a tiny bit to get trapped in. She only had to walk around it." The freed ewe was unharmed and returned to the flock.

Ms Wright said the ewe could have been badly cut had she not been spotted by passing walkers.

image copyright RSPCA image caption How did ewe manage that?

"She had her head through one of the square meshes of this 'stock fence' and became stuck fast.

"When I arrived she was bleating in distress and really panicking. There were sharp wires in the fence and I have no doubt she would have hurt herself had she been left in that panicked state for much longer," she said.

Once cut free, the ewe "went charging straight off to rejoin her flock - danger averted," Ms Wright added.