Cranky cows invade beach and claim best sunbathing spots

By Sophie Norris via SWNS

A herd of ill-tempered cattle invaded a beach and stole all the best tanning spots - even taking a dip and leaving baffled sunseekers to sit frustrated on the nearby rocks.

Jackie Holden had headed down to Gadding Dam, West Yorkshire, UK, on Saturday, when she spotted the unusual sight of 24 cows stretched out at the beauty spot, often dubbed Todmorden Beach.

The 47-year-old watched in amazement as sunbathers were forced to lie on the edge of the beach as the brazen herd sprawled across the golden sand taking up the best sun spots.

Microbiologist Jackie claims she kept her distance after being chased by the cows before - but warned some visitors were taking dangerous risks by letting their kids swim among them.

In further images taken on Sunday, Jackie noticed the cows had returned for a second day of sunshine.

Jackie, from Todmorden, Calderdale, UK, said: "It was such an unusual sight.

"I went up there yesterday and there were still on the beach. I think they'd made themselves at home there.

"There were people just sunbathing with them yesterday. There were kids swimming among them.

"It seemed a little dangerous to be honest. I'm wary of cows anyway because I've been chased a couple of times when we've been up there with the dog so I give them a wide berth.

"They can be quite ill-tempted sometimes. I don't know if they're exceptionally docile at the moment because of the weather.

"There were families up there on Sunday and they had their beach towels out, pop-up tents and the cows were just walking round sniffing at picnics."

While the animals happily roam in the moors, Jackie claims she had never seen them on the beach before - joking they appeared to have scared off most of the tourists.

Jackie said: "I've been going up there for years and sometimes [the cows] will head to the dam and have a little paddle.

"But they don't often go to the beach. I've never seen them lying on the beach before. Usually they go in at the opposite end and spend a bit of time on there.

"It's quite funny. I think a lot of the locals were quite happy about it because it's been invaded by tourists recently.

"It's like something you'd expect to see in Goa or something. It's not something you see every day."