A York schoolgirl's dash for a bus almost ended in disaster when she was confronted by a loose bull.

The hapless teenager was flung over a hedge by the beast - but she escaped with just a few bumps and bruises.

Jennifer Train's terrifying ordeal began when she came face to face with the animal just moments after it had escaped from the ABP Abattoir, next to the livestock centre in Murton.

The frightened 14-year-old, who lives at Smary Lane in the village, was rooted to the spot in terror.

She said: "The bull started looking at me, then it ran towards me and sort of jumped. It bashed into me and knocked me over a hedge."

Jennifer, a pupil at Fulford School, lay curled up in a ball, then the bull seemed to jump the hedge or force through it.

"I just thought it was going to come and get me again. But then it ran off."

Jennifer's mum, Joan Winteringham, said: "She was absolutely terrified and didn't know what to do. She is obviously very shocked and her arms and legs are very sore, but she really has had an amazing escape because there are no bones broken.

"I am so relieved she is okay - she didn't even need any hospital treatment."

As reported in later editions of yesterday's Evening Press, the fleeing bull caused traffic chaos when it headed onto the A166 Stamford Bridge road - just a mile from the Grimston Bar roundabout.

Horrified motorists contacted police, who with the help of abattoir staff and workers from the livestock centre helped recapture the bull. It was later taken to a field and destroyed.

A spokesman for ABP Abattoir said two bulls had escaped, and a full investigation was under way to establish how the bulls escaped. He said: "We are delighted to know that Jennifer, who is known to members of our staff at York, appears unhurt.

"Senior staff have visited the Train family to inquire about Jennifer and to offer our regrets."

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