A cow has been shot dead by police after it escaped from a field near Newcastle during a three-hour operation involving armed units and a helicopter.

It was one of three cows that escaped from a field near the Rising Sun Country Park in Wallsend on Sunday afternoon.

Police were alerted by members of the public who spotted them wandering towards a busy main road.

Part of the Coast Road from Newcastle to Tynemouth had to be shut as police tried to catch one cow in a nearby field.

A spokesperson for Northumbria Police said: “The cow was in a highly distressed state and considered to be a significant risk to members of the public and motorists.

“The decision was made for the animal to be destroyed by firearms officers at the scene.”

Barry Aitchison, 56, told the Chronicle that armed police asked to shoot it from his upstairs window but then went to a neighbour’s house because there was not enough room.

“It was wrong for the police to kill a cow,” he said.

The cow was killed at around 5.15pm, almost three hours after the chase started.

The two other escaped animals were left to be recovered by their owners.