A PAIR of cows destined for the slaughterhouse gave hundreds of rush-hour motorists a bum steer when they made a bid for freedom on Wednesday.

The duo escaped onto the A1 after the trailer they were travelling in tipped over.

Traffic ground to a halt just south of the Chester-le-Street interchange at around 7.15am, as the animals sauntered back and forth across both carriageways.

Northbound drivers were caught in tailbacks up to seven miles long, stretching back as far as the Carville turn-off near Durham City.

Several at the front of the queue left their cars and spent 15 minutes chasing the cows up the embankment and into a nearby field.

The pair, a Belgian Blue and a Friesian, both aged 30 months, then enjoyed several hours of fleeting freedom.

A police 4x4 vehicle moved the vehicle and trailer onto the hard shoulder, and traffic was moving freely again by 7.45am.

The cows were being transported to a slaughterhouse in Whitley Bay, North Tyneside, when the accident happened.

The Range Rover driver, who has not been named, suffered slight head and facial injuries and was taken to Durham's University Hospital for precautionary checks. A police spokesman said: "The cows have been taken to another farm to make sure they suffered no ill effects. But once that is established, they will be taken to the slaughterhouse."