Dunedin cops jump calf on the lam

Catch me if you can! And eventually - with help from six Dunedin patrol cars - police did. Photo / Thinkstock

A runaway calf on Dunedin's Southern Motorway sparked a pursuit involving six police cars before officers cornered the beast and "jumped on it".

Snr Sgt Brian Benn said the calf had escaped from its Abbotsford paddock and was running south on the motorway towards Fairfield on Saturday about 2pm.

The alert was raised and soon two police cars were in pursuit.

"It then jumped the lane and headed north to Green Island and then back towards Abbotsford.''

The pursuit had increased to six patrol cars as the calf continued to evade police.

The calf was apprehended at the back of a block of flats in Abbotsford Rd, he said.

"A couple of us cornered it and jumped on it.''

The calf was returned to its owner, he said.