Couple get payout after water buffaloes fall into Essex swimming pool

theguardian.com:

An Essex couple have spent 10 months seeking compensation after 18 escaped water buffaloes stampeded through their garden, with eight of them taking a morning dip in their new swimming pool.

Andy and Lynette Smith, who are retired, say that their garden and pool were ruined after the animals, which weigh about 600kg each, got out of a rare breeds farm and on to their property, causing more than £25,000 worth of damage.

Eight of them ended up falling into the £70,000 pool, triggering a stampede that wrecked fencing and flower beds. The animals were rescued unharmed by the farmer.

The incident happened when an electric fence failed last July, allowing the herd to breach a wooden fence and hedge separating their field from the Smiths’ garden.

“When my wife went to make the morning tea, she glanced out of the kitchen window and saw eight buffaloes in the pool,” said Andy Smith. “She called 999 and was told the fire brigade don’t accept hoax calls. It took some persuading to get them to take us seriously. When they arrived, one of the buffaloes, spooked by their hi-vis jackets, headed straight at them.”

The farmer was summoned from next door and helped the animals out of the water.

Water buffaloes, also known as Asian buffaloes, can reach over 6ft in height and males have horns up to 5ft long. In the wild they spend much of their time submerged in the muddy waters of tropical forests.

The Smiths were mystified as to how the animals ended up in their pool until they examined recordings from a CCTV camera in their garden. The footage shows the buffaloes wandering into the garden early on the Sunday morning. One stepped on to the solid pool cover and fell through it, causing others to run across the lawn. During the next 15 minutes,