A cow that climbed on to the roof of a garage before falling through has been rescued by firefighters – after spending 24 hours wedged in a car inspection pit.

The fire service was called at 9pm on Tuesday by a farmer who had found one of his valuable beef breeding cows stuck in the pit.

It is unclear how the young heifer scaled the garage roof at the edge of the farmer's pasture in Bere Alston in Devon, on Monday.

Officers from Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service spent two-and-a-half hours rescuing the cow.

A vet attended the scene and gave the 18-month-old cow a health check before it walked back to the pasture.