A BULLOCK caused chaos this morning when it escaped from a livestock centre and ran amok on a busy road.

Police attended the westbound carriageway of the A64, between the Hopgrove roundabout and Grimston Bar, on the outskirts of York, at about 9.35am, following reports of a bullock running around on the road.

Eyewitness Tony Bartholomew said: "At first, I thought there had been an accident.

"I couldn't see anything, then this huge bull came out of nowhere.

"It jumped from one side to the other and back again.

"It was prancing back and forward, causing mayhem as cars swerved to avoid it.

"There was a massive two-lane tailback on the westbound carriageway."

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said: "After several near misses, the animal collided with a Vauxhall Astra occupied by an elderly couple.

"Thankfully the couple were uninjured and the damage to the car was very minor.

"The bullock suffered minor injuries and was destroyed by a police marksman at 11am following authorisation from the owners of the beast, which had escaped from a nearby livestock centre.

"The west-bound carriage of the A64 was closed by police and a rolling block was placed on the east-bound carriageway while the incident was dealt with."

Both carriageways were reopened shortly after 11am.