POLICE who tweeted jokingly about an escaped bull have come under fire after the animal was shot dead by a marksman.

The bull made a break for freedom from Ross-on-Wye Cattle Market last week, and was later shot on a Wye Valley Walk footpath near the start of the M50 in Phocle Green, sparking anger from animal lovers.

West Mercia Police had earlier tweeted social media updates with the hashtag ‘#policesteakout’, while another tweet from the Police Safer Neighbourhood Team for the area added: “Take care if driving in that area. Apparently it’s not in a good moooood.”

Residents who took to social media slammed the force’s “heavy-handed” response and labelled its updates “inappropriate” before police removed the posts.

Mark Wright posted on Facebook: “I don’t think the force’s jokey tweets were entirely appropriate before they blasted this helpless animal dead. A bit heavy-handed.”

The bull escaped from the cattle market on Monday morning, September 11, and was tracked down by the police, including the force helicopter, to fields by the M50 before a licensed civilian marksman shot it.

A West Mercia Police spokesman later said: “A bull that escaped from a cattle market in Ross-on-Wye has been destroyed due to concerns for public safety.

“The bull was tracked to the Wye Valley Walk near to Ross-on-Wye where it was shot by a licensed civilian marksman who was supporting police.

“Thank you to the public for their support and patience while we dealt with the incident.

“The social media messages were put out prior to the bull being destroyed and in light of the eventual outcome these messages were taken down.”

Earlier police posts had warned: “Please don’t approach and please avoid fields around Phocle Green.”