Calf causes shop chaos

The heifer is now living peacefully on a farm

A frightened calf caused havoc when it dashed through a north Wales shoe shop after escaping from a cattle market.

The seven-month-old heifer escaped from the town centre market at Mold - and ran straight in through the open door of the shoe shop next to the mart entrance in the High Street.

Customers fled and shoe stands were thrown about before the animal made a quick exit - straight through a plate glass window.

There were shoes all over the place and hoof marks all over the floor

Manageress Joyce Simpson

The frightened heifer then hit and damaged a car parked in the High Street before making off again.

Shoe shop manageress Joyce Simpson said: "It must have come in because it knew we had a sale starting or it thought we were selling our leather shoes too cheap!

"It came in, caused a right mess but didn't hang around and went straight out again through the window.

"There was glass everywhere and the shop was in a bit of a state. There were shoes all over the place and hoof marks all over the floor."

Assistant Kerry Inglesby said she could not believe it when she saw the animal in the shop.

'Like a cowboy film'

"I thought it was a Dalmatian going mad in the shop. It was a terrible shock. It ran in and the stands were knocked over and there were shoes everywhere.

"It was running towards us and then hit one of the fixtures knocking off the men's shoes. It then turned and went straight through the window. It all happened so quick.

"There were about five or six customers in the shop at the time and they ran out of the way - one ran up the stairs at the back."

Mart foreman Mike McCloud - who helped recapture the animal - said: "It got frightened in the trailer and ran off into the High Street. It disappeared into the shop and the next thing it came out of the window.

"The noise was like a bomb going off and there was glass everywhere.

"When I saw the heifer coming through the window it was like a cowboy film.

'Living peacefully'

"You can replace windows and car body panels. The important thing is that no one was hurt."

The heifer - bleeding from the head - was later cornered in car park of a nearby Tesco store.

"It calmed down and we were later able to sell the heifer in the market and it is now back living peacefully on a farm.

"Cows are not animals that will attack anyone but when they are frightened they just go and if there is anything or anyone in the way then it's just hard luck.

"I am just glad that no one was injured."