Pedestrians in Birmingham were left questioning whether the statue guarding the Bullring shopping centre had come to life when a bull was spotted running loose on the city’s streets.
Video footage shared online on Friday morning showed a large black bull with white horns charging around streets in east Birmingham. The bull could be seen galloping past cars on a road near a roundabout and running along pavements.
It was unclear where the bull came from or why it was running loose.
The city council said its staff “weren’t fazed when they came across a stray bull roaming the streets of Birmingham”. It said in a social media post: “When asked to help, our street cleansing crew were on the case, rapidly devising a plan to move this beautiful, albeit misplaced, animal to safety. It was checked out by our animal welfare team and is now in the care of West Midlands police.”
The bull was spotted running around the Small Heath area of the city not far from St Andrew’s, home to Birmingham City football club.
John Cooper, who works at Small Heath railway station, told BirminghamLive: “I saw something go past in the corner of my eye and thought it was a horse. I had to go for another look and thought ‘oh god, it’s a bull’. It was quite a shock, I didn’t know to react. It was casually trotting down the road. The bull didn’t seem dangerous, it just seemed lost.”
West Midlands police said: “We were made aware of a bull in the road near New Bond Street in Birmingham at just before 9.30am today. We’re liaising with Birmingham city council and other agencies to ensure the animal is taken to a safe location.”
Birmingham is famously associated with bulls, with its main shopping centre named the Bullring, and guarded by a large bronze bull statue at its entrance.
In the city’s New Street railway station, a 10-metre mechanical bull built for the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony sits on the central concourse. It was named Ozzy in a public vote – after the rock star Ozzy Osbourne, who comes from the city.
The association stems from bull baiting, which took place in the area around the Bullring centre in the 16th century.
