Ram causes thousands of pounds of damage to house

A ram caused thousands of pounds worth of damage when it smashed through a glass patio door and ran wild in a house. The animal butted the oven door, knocked over a flat screen television, smashed up furniture and ruined rugs, carpets and tiles. It had escaped from a nearby field and a farmer gave chase but was unable to stop the ram. It is believed the animal, worked up because of breeding season, charged at the patio door after seeing its own reflection in the glass. It rammed the door after mistaking it for a competitor. The ram was unharmed but left a trial of destruction in its wake. Paula Smith and her husband Ed thought their home had been raided by burglars when they returned from a walk.

Mr Smith was reporting the break-in to the police when Paula's uncle phoned to explain. Mrs Smith, who runs a livery, said: "We saw all the glass and all the mess and we were very scared. "For about 15 minutes I was racking my brain wondering if I'd upset anyone for them to do this, while my husband was on the phone to the police reporting it. As he was doing that, my mobile rang and it was my uncle saying the farmer was trying to get in touch." Mrs Smith, 53, from Tockholes, Lancs, said the farmer, Frank Cleary, was very upset - but they now see the funny side. "He said he'd had to have a full glass of Benedictine when he got home," she said.



"We had only gone out for a bit of fresh air after cleaning the house as we had guests arriving from Australia for my daughter's wedding. But it made us laugh. It was an unfortunate one-off, and we're just glad that there was nobody in because if it can come through toughened patio door glass, and through furniture, then it wouldn't have stopped for a mere person. I can understand now why they call them battering rams. It couldn't have happened at an worse time and it's as if it was deliberate. The whole house stank because of the muck it left behind and I've had to throw out the rug in the living room. The carpets have to be replaced, because we can't get the stains out, half of the range cooker we can't use because the door's wrecked and the hob doesn't work. The patio door can't be replaced for another month. We've had to board it up but because it's been raining. It's damp and that smells now too.

"It's going to be a big job to sort out because the walls will need replastering because of the way the door was damaged. It'll cost in the thousands, but the farmer's insurers are sorting it out." Mr Cleary said: "The ram was with his mate in a field when he must have got spooked. He ran off down a ginnel and I went after with my stick and got him at the back of one of the houses. Then he saw his own reflection and, thinking it was another ram, started charging through the doors and into the kitchen. I followed him in where he also saw his reflection in the oven door and the television, but I eventually managed to get him out. The ram is OK. There wasn't a scratch on him. It is coming into the breeding season, and they can get a bit more agitated at that time."