A Scottish family were just about to enjoy their new swimming pool for the first time - when a huge bull charged into the water.

The pool at Kinaldy farm house near St Andrews, Fife, had only just been filled with ten thousand gallons of water, reports the Daily Telegraph.

The new pool then became the scene of a major operation to pump out the water before the animal was tranquilised and removed with a mechanical digger.

Jamie Stewart said: "I had just signed off the pool with Alba pools and the kids were looking forward to trying it out at tea time.

"But the next thing I knew, there was a tremendous commotion. A bull had escaped from a nearby field. It was chased by farm workers into a nearby forest but then it turned and chased the farm workers.

"The animal careered down the hill towards our house and my partner, Gillian, who runs the Acorn nursery at the farm had to evacuate the children as a precaution."

He added, "The bull did not look too happy as it crashed into a barn shed and came out the other side before diving into our new pool. It was definitely an 8.5 out of 10 dive.

"I couldn't believe it. It's not every day you see a bull in your pool. The kids had been looking forward to trying out the new pool but they quickly saw the funny side."

Mr Stewart summoned the fire brigade who pumped out the water that had only been put into the pool on Friday.

Mr Stewart said: "The vet had to shoot it twice with a dart gun before it conked out. They then managed to get straps underneath the animal and it was lifted out by a digger with a front lift."

Nova