Police have thanked members of the public who helped bring a flock of loose sheep under control on the A419 near Swindon.
At around 8.45pm on Monday (31 March), Wiltshire Police received multiple calls reporting several sheep running loose on the carriageway at Cricklade.
Officers attended but were faced with the unexpected challenge of herding the animals safely off the busy route.
The incident brought the A419 to a standstill for almost two hours as emergency services worked to resolve the situation.
At around 10.30pm, with the assistance of around 30 members of the public, officers formed a human wall to guide the sheep into the back of a local farmer’s trailer.
A spokesperson for Wiltshire Police said: “We wanted to thank everyone involved in the 12 sheep rescue mission on the A419 yesterday evening (31/03).
“At around 8.45pm, Wiltshire Police received multiple calls from members of the public advising that there were numerous sheep on the loose on the A419.
“Officers attended but it turns out they don’t teach sheep rescue missions in Police training school and it proved very difficult to get them under control.
“This put the A419 at a standstill for nearly two hours and we are extremely grateful for everyone’s patience and understanding whilst we managed to sort this out.
“At 10.30pm, with the help of around 30 members of the public, officers and members of the public created a human wall to herd the sheep into a back of a local farmer’s trailer.
“Eventually, we were able to re-open the A419.
“We wanted to thank everyone involved – without your help and patience we couldn’t have got this resolved as soon as we did.”
