News

A Northumbrian tipper driver received one of the shocks of his driving life when a water buffalo jumped out in front of him as he headed towards a quarry to pick up his load. Owner-driver Ronnie Storey initially thought the beast was a bull, but it turned out to be a water buffalo from a herd kept locally to produced mozzarella cheese. The accident happened near Heddon-on-the-Wall as Storey was starting work at 5.30am. The buffalo, more usually associated with India than Northumberland, was killed  instantly and the accident did £7,000 worth of damage to the truck.

Storey reports that he was driving at around 40mph and it was dark at the time of the accident. He adds: "There was a huge thud, I lost control of the steering and pulled over straight away. I really thought it was a big bull but when I went to look at it I couldn't believe it. You don't really expect to find a water buffalo in England." Storey rang the police immediately, and they informed him that they had been looking for a herd of buffalo that had escaped from a local farm.