Watch: Escaped llama and alpaca herd causes traffic chaos on A66
A herd of llamas and alpacas escaped[1] from a farm and sparked chaos for drivers on the A66 in Cumbria.
About 30 of the animals fled from a farm shop near Troutbeck, in Cumbria[2], on Monday evening and began running down the nearby motorway – to the surprise of motorists.
Terry Barlow, the owner of the Basecamp North Lakes shop, said he “ran out the door” after being told by one of his customers that the animals had escaped[3].
Staff at Alpacaly Ever After, its parent company, said a vehicle had crashed into a fence at the site and created a hole, before driving off and failing to report the damage.
Mr Barlow told the BBC: “Once the alpacas and llamas[4] spotted the hole, they were too nosey to not go and explore.
“Then a customer came into the farm shop and casually said: ‘Oh, your alpacas and llamas are running up the A66. Anyway, I’ve come to buy some of your sausages.’
“By the time we reached the road, there were about 30 of them happily walking towards Penrith.”
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Video footage taken by passers-by shows a long line of cars stuck in traffic, while Mr Barlow and his staff block the road and try to shepherd the animals to safety.
Cumbria police said shop staff returned the animals to their field before officers were sent out.
Rebecca Remmer, who filmed the chaos, said she and her husband were travelling to Appleby when the traffic came to a stop.
She said her husband left their vehicle and helped to round up the loose llamas and alpacas, adding: “That’s something you don’t see every day”.
References
- ^ llamas and alpacas escaped (www.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ Cumbria (www.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ animals had escaped (www.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ alpacas and llamas (www.telegraph.co.uk)