Water buffalo
Police have shot dead an escaped water buffalo that went on the rampage in Staffordshire, UK, on 9 May. Getty

A water buffalo that hospitalised a man after it escaped from a local farm and roamed near a primary school has been killed. Staffordshire Police were called to try and control the beast and told parents and pupils at Cooper Perry Primary School not to worry about extra police presence, according to reports released on Monday (9 May).

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The police force had tweeted earlier: "We are dealing with an incident in Seighford. If collecting child from Cooper Perry Primary School, please be aware of officers in the area".

The officers arrived at Seighford after paramedics treated the man for leg injuries caused by the animal. A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokeswoman said the injured man was taken to the Royal Stoke University Hospital for further assessment and treatment, the BBC reports.

A Staffordshire Police spokesman confirmed that armed officers had been sent to the scene as they devised a way to bring the animal under control. Eventually they were forced to call on a specialist to kill the animal, after it had been 'contained' in a barn.