Cattle crate tossed on to road

A stock truck which overturned on Ngaumutawa Road, Masterton.

The cattle inside a crate that fell from a moving stock truck and on to the road have escaped injury and are "as good as gold".

About 26 dairy cows and bulls were inside a crate on a Beale Trucking trailer which rolled on Ngaumutawa Rd at about 1.45pm yesterday.

Masterton traffic Sergeant Chris Megaw said the crate had "parted company" with the trailer and landed on the grass verge after the trailer rolled as the truck came around a corner. Ambulance staff attended but the driver was not injured.

A couple of cows had fallen on to the road but had been quickly helped into the paddock, Mr Megaw said. One had suffered a minor scrape but was otherwise unhurt, he said.

"One wasn't looking too flash but they seem to have got it up and running, so all in all, it's not bad in terms of animal welfare."

Regan Beale of the Mangatainoka-based firm Beale Trucking said the animals were "as good as gold" and would be seen by a vet.

Most of the animals were herded into a nearby paddock, with firefighters and ambulance staff cutting open the crate to free the remaining animals trapped inside.

The road remained open with one lane diverted on to the grass verge beside the railway tracks until a crane could arrive to right the trailer.

Mr Megaw said he could not speculate on what caused the crash, but police would be investigating possible loading issues and mechanical faults.

It was understood the cattle had been collected from various pick-ups in the area and were destined for Hawera.