Britain's busiest road ground to a halt over the Bank Holiday, after cattle made the most of an unexpected taste of freedom.
Two bulls and a heifer escaped an overturned horsebox between junctions five and six of the M25 near Sevenoaks, closing the road for more than two-and-a-half hours.
And thousands of hapless drivers caught in the three mile traffic jam had to grin and bear it as police and Highways Authority staff were scrambled to deal with the incident. The road was closed in both directions from 7pm as they tried to capture the errant animals.
While the bulls headed briskly for a field beside the motorway, the third cow made the most of the holiday atmosphere by wandering freely across all six lanes.
As officers spent an hour fruitlessly trying to corral the heifer, motorists enjoyed a kick around on the motorway.
Eventually, the remaining ruminant was sedated by a vet and moved to safety, while the bulls were allowed a night of freedom before being collected the next day.
A Highways Agency spokesman confirmed that nobody was injured, though the cause of the accident was unclear.
"Being the end of the Bank Holiday, the roads were particularly busy, so it was not a good time for this to happen," they said.
"But it did mean there was quite an audience."
