A buffalo was rescued using a backhoe after falling down an abandoned well in Thailand.

The female farm animal was feeding on the grass with the other animals but wandered near the unfinished well at a farm in Chonburi province on January 23.

She then slipped down the 8ft-deep hole and was covered with sludge until her caretaker realised one of the animals was missing and searched for her.

When she was found down the well, her owner had to call the animal rescuers for help as she was too heavy and the well too deep for them to take her out.

The buffalo’s owner Weerawut Singtothong said the beast was worth 200,000 baht (GBP 4,500). She added : ‘This buffalo is precious, as her breed is similar to those that are being joined in our province’s racing festival.

‘However, I do not join in buffalo racing, I just take care of her along with 20 other buffalos to help in the farm and maintain Thai farming tradition using animals.’

The well was made from concrete so they had to use a pickaxe and sledgehammer to break a portion before digging the soil around it with a backhoe.

The backhoe then made a slope on the soil so that the buffalo could just walk out of the hole.

After almost two hours of rescue operation, the animal was freed. She had several wounds around her body so she was given some first aid before she was taken by her owner home.

The buffalo, according to her owner, cost 200,000 THB or 4,500 GBP. The same breed was used to join in buffalo racing during Chonburi’s annual festival ‘Wing Kwai’ which was held after the end of the rainy season.