Hilarious moment escaped buffalo herd plunge into Essex swimming pool

THIS is the moment a herd of escaped water buffaloes wreck a couple’s swimming pool – by taking a dip.

The animals escaped from a nearby farm and plunged into the Essex couple’s new pool.

Retired couple Andy and Lynette Smith say their garden was ruined by the animals.

Andy : “When my wife went to make the morning tea, she glanced out of the kitchen window and saw eight buffaloes in the pool. 

“She called 999 and was told the fire brigade don’t accept hoax calls. It took some persuading to get them to take us seriously.”

CCTV footage shows the shocking moment the animals wandered into the garden and fell through the cover into the water.

The couple said they had hosted a pool party for their young grandchildren the previous day.

Andy said: “If the invasion had happened hours earlier, it could have been very serious.”

The incident happened when the animals broke through a wooden fence and hedge separating the field from the garden.

The farmer managed to rescue the animals unharmed after the incident in Wivenhoe, near Colchester, Essex in July.

The couple won compensation after the buffalo caused £25,000 damage to their pool.

A spokesperson from NFU Mutual insurance said that the claim had been “settled and paid”.

They said: “We apologise for the delay paying this claim and in particular the initial wait for an inspector’s visit, which took too long and fell short of our usual standards.”

It comes after a shocking video of a bull on the pitch before a Super League game was released.

And the moment a farmer narrowly escaped being trampled by a rampaging cow was also caught on video.

Experienced farmer Dani Blair was attacked by the cow before her husband managed to intervene.

The couple shared a clip to raise awareness of the dangers of working with cattle.