TWENTY cows and a bull on a road near Wimborne brought traffic to a standstill on Thursday morning.

The cattle escaped a field close to the Fox and Hounds pub near the B3073 just before 9.30am. Frustrated motorists lit up the police switchboard with calls from mobile phones.

Officers from Wimborne were first on the scene, and within 20 minutes had herded all of the stray cattle from the road.

The farmer and his herdsman were called by officers, and by 10am the cows were back in their field.