It was Tuesday evening, so it's Drill Night and, of course, another lecture! Pete Gray was half way through a lecture on radiation and the new kit we are getting to detect it, when the bells went.

Our crew on Ladder 2 were first pump out as Red Watch were having a tour of a ship in Lowestoft harbour.

It was nice to get a shout but there was a collective groan when we learnt it was to a cow stuck in a ditch!

We drove as far as we could down Marsh Lane, parking at the railway crossing and then getting the Unimog plus a load of extra gear across the line and onto the track that leads down to the marshes.

We were led to the stranded cow by a guy who'd been out walking his dog when he spotted the unfortunate animal.

Gradually our plan evolved. A hearth sheet was laid out on the bank of the ditch to give us some purchase (as the whole area was muddy and brimming with cow dung!). The Unimog was positioned face on to the ditch so that we could, if necessary, use its winch to pull the cow out.

After a bit of pushing and shoving (in the style of James Herriot) Al Soards was able to work a strop under the cow's body, just in front of its rear legs. Unfortunately getting the front strop under was so easy. However with Rudi Mann and Phil Cornford from Red Watch togged up in their dry-suits they were able to work more closely to the cow. They discovered its front legs were tucked right up under its body and this was why we were having difficulty getting the strop under.

So, to create some space we heaved on the line attached to the rear strop, basically lifting the cows backside up into the air. This did the trick and the front strop was positioned successfully.

Then it was down to brute force as we pulled at front and rear and hauled the cow sideways out of the mud. After a short breather (for the cow and us) we all pulled again and she made it, unsteadily, to her feet.

Job done...

Ten firefighters, an RSPCA inspector and the farmer plus half a dozen onlookers and one bewildered cow, glad that the whole episode was now over. Just a case of getting all the gear back on the Unimog including its coating of glutinous mud and ever so slightly minging cow poo!

The light was fading as we trudged back to the railway line and Ladder 2. Just time to rinse off the worst of the muck and then back to Normanshurst for 40 minutes of washing and scrubbing - our kit, tools, fire engine, Unimog and us!

All that for a cow. Just goes to prove that we are still a nation of animal lovers...

I'm hoping to get some pics on here soon. One of our small but appreciative audience was armed with a camera and took plenty of photos. I'll try and lay my hands on some of those. You never know, there may be one of us all falling on our backsides when the rope on the halter broke as we were doing a bad impression of a pub tug-o-war team!

And this was Little Pete's (Pete Brown) first shout in charge. Much more memorable than an Automatic Fire Alarm... Not exactly a baptism of fire, more like a baptism in mud!