A hapless calf was rescued by villagers after he fell into a 16ft-deep well while grazing in a field in Thailand.

The male baby cow was munching on grass near the abandoned shaft in Phayao province on August 10, but plummeted down the water-filled shaft after it failed to notice the opening that was covered in thick foliage.

He slipped and plunged into the filthy muck before being discovered by villagers two hours later with only his head above the water.

Rescue volunteers used a bamboo ladder to climb down the well and tie a rope around the creature's body. They then tried to hoist the calf up manually, but it was too heavy, and the well, too deep.

A backhoe was later brought in to finally carry the frightened animal back up to dry land.

The calf's relieved owner said: 'I thought my calf went home, but we couldn't find him anywhere. When we returned to the fields, we saw the hole and realised he could be down there.'

He added that the calf was uninjured after the ordeal.