Footage has emerged of the incident which occurred earlier today, Thursday, July 25, of a cow escaping from Ennis Mart, Co. Clare.

The animal injured a man after breaking loose from a pen in the mart this morning.

The footage shows the cow running down the streets of the Co. Clare town being pursued by a number of cars and trailers.

While galloping down the main road, the animal menaces a couple of bystanders, narrowly avoids getting hit by cars at a junction before appearing to collide with one unfortunate individual.

The bystander appears to get back up again when it runs off, though it is unclear if any injuries were sustained.

In a brief statement on the incident earlier this evening, a spokesperson for the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) said: “The HSA can confirm that the matter has been reported to the authority and that it is looking into it.”

According to local radio station Clare FM, the animal was being unloaded at the mart when it broke loose from the pen and escaped in the direction of Quin Road.

A man believed to be working in the area tried to stop the cow at the gate of the mart only to be knocked to the ground by the animal, according to the radio station.

The man in question was brought to University Hospital Limerick to be treated for minor head injuries.

The animal was apparently later rounded up at the back of the Dunnes Stores car-park in the town by a number of people.