Marksmen were brought in to shoot some of the marauding cows because they were thought to present a danger to the public after they escaped from farmland near Sprotbrough Road.

About 20 cows and a bull made a bid for freedom in the early hours of Sunday and they wandered in different directions for up to two miles from their field on Crimpsall Ings.

Six had to be killed, with the authority of the owner, and up to a dozen are still enjoying life on the loose in open countryside near Sprotbrough village.

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The shootings upset some residents of Sprotbrough who complained to police but officers insist their actions were essential for public safety.

The first report of trouble came when a taxi driver turning into Sprotbrough Road collided with a cow near the KFC drive-thru takeaway and Blockbuster movie store just after 4am on Sunday.

The driver was unhurt but his car was damaged and the animal was injured.

Police established the cattle had got out of a field behind the Hayselden garage and then came reports that some were heading up York Road towards Sunnyfields and Scawsby.

At 7.20am a resident of Richmond Road reported a bull jumping over a wall into their garden and then heading towards Alwyn Avenue. It was then seen on the road before being successfully captured, without injury to anyone, near The Highwayman pub at Highfields roundabout.

By this time professional marksmen had been called out after reports of around 20 cows running down Melton Road, Sprotbrough.

More police officers were deployed and local people tried to help round them up but the field where they were herded did not have fencing to contain them so they made their way into woodland.

At 12.30pm the marksmen received authorisation to shoot them and six were destroyed in a cul-de-sac under construction near Woodfield House.

A Doncaster police spokesman said: "We tried to inform residents about what was happening but it was not possible to tell everyone.

"Some people called to complain about the cows being shot but it was essential because they could have caused a road safety hazard."

Up to a dozen of the cows are thought to be still at large near Sprotbrough.

Police say they will be interviewing the farmer, who has not been named, to establish how the cattle came to be on the highway and to decide if he will be prosecuted for failing to control livestock.

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