A bull that ran loose through the streets of Birmingham – after apparently escaping from an abattoir – has been given a new home by an animal sanctuary in Norfolk.

The stray bovine, thought to be about two years old, was safely contained by Birmingham city council staff on Friday after being spotted by passersby in New Bond Street, Digbeth, shortly before 9.30am.

Street cleaning crews corralled what the council described as the “beautiful albeit misplaced” animal until it was checked over by a welfare team and then transferred to the care of West Midlands police. It was unclear where the large black bull came from or why it was running loose.

Wendy Valentine, founder of the Hillside animal sanctuary in Frettenham, near Norwich, said: “We became aware of his desperate break for freedom when we received multiple calls from concerned supporters asking if we could help.

“We sprang into action and negotiated with the Birmingham police, assuring them that we could give him a secure home here at Hillside.

“With nobody coming forward to claim him, they agreed that we could collect him and bring him to our sanctuary.”

The bull arrived at Hillside at about 2.45am on Saturday, has been named Liam and will live with the sanctuary’s 750 other rescued cattle.

A video released by the sanctuary showed the bull munching hay in its new surroundings within minutes of its arrival.

Majid Mahmood, a councillor and Birmingham’s cabinet member for environment and transport, posted a picture of the bull on X and wrote: “This magnificent animal seemed to be enjoying an unexpected break, but our amazing street cleansing staff weren’t phased at all, helping moving it into a safe place.

“Well done to our animal welfare staff & park rangers.”

Video footage shared online on Friday showed the animal charging around streets in east Birmingham, galloping past cars on a road near a roundabout and running along pavements.

The incident prompted jokes online that it may have been heading towards Birmingham’s Bullring or whether the bronze statue of the animal guarding the shopping centre had come to life.

In Birmingham’s New Street railway station, a 10-metre mechanical bull built for the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony sits on the central concourse. It was named Ozzy in a public vote after the rock star Ozzy Osbourne, who comes from the city.

Source: The Guardian