TRAFFIC was held up when a bull went for a stroll along a motorway yesterday.

Police received several calls yesterday morning about the bull grazing on the hard shoulder of the A1(M) between Bowburn and Bradbury, in County Durham.

The tan-colour bull had got through a hole in the fence separating its field from the road and walked along the hard shoulder.

One motorist said: "I was driving the other way and I saw the traffic backing up.

"I glanced over and saw a bull trotting down the hard shoulder without a care in the world - it was a bizarre sight.

A police spokesman said they had received reports of a bull or a cow grazing by the side of the motorway, but officers had not seen it when they investigated.

There were delays on the A19(M) following a four-car collision on the northbound carriageway, near junction 61, at about 8.30am. A woman suffered whiplash and was taken to the University Hospital of North Durham.