A British couple has won compensation for damages caused by a herd of water buffaloes that escaped from a nearby farm and trampled through their garden.
The water buffaloes, weighing approximately 600kg each, entered the Andy and Lynette Smith’ property in Essex and caused over £25,000 worth of damage.
Eight buffaloes ended up falling into the Smiths’ £70,000 swimming pool, triggering a stampede that damaged fencing and flower beds.
Fortunately, the animals were rescued unharmed by the farmer. The incident occurred in July 2022 when an electric fence failed, allowing the herd to come through a wooden fence and hedge separating their field from the Smiths’ garden.
Andy Smith recalled the moment his wife noticed the buffaloes in the pool while making morning tea. Initially, the authorities did not take their call seriously, with the emergency services mistaking it for a hoax.
Water buffaloes, also known as Asian buffaloes, can reach heights of over 6ft and males possess horns up to 1.5m long. In their natural habitat, these animals spend a significant amount of time submerged in the muddy waters of tropical forests. They are not usually native to Essex.
Emergency services eventually arrived at the scene, and one of the buffaloes, startled by their hi-vis jackets, charged towards them.
The farmer was then summoned and assisted in getting the animals out of the water.
CCTV recordings revealed that the buffaloes wandered into the garden early on a Sunday morning, with one of them stepping onto the solid pool cover and subsequently falling through it.
This led to other buffaloes running across the lawn, and within 15 minutes, a total of eight animals had fallen into the pool.
NFU Mutual, the insurance company of the farm has agreed to pay the £25,000 repair bill in full.
