Llamas and alpacas stampede brings quiet Cumbria village to a grinding halt

25 October 2023 , 11:00

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Llamas and alpacas stampede brings quiet Cumbria village to a grinding halt

Traffic came to a total standstill on a busy main road after a herd of 30 escaped llamas and alpacas went on the rampage.

Terry Barlow, owner of the Basecame North Lakes shop near the village of Troutbeck in Cumbria, said he was surprised to be told by a customer buying sausages on Monday that his animals had been spotted on the loose.

The domesticated farm animals, native to South America, spilled onto the A66 shortly after breaking free, where he said they started to head in the direction of Penrith.

Bizarre footage shared by motorists showed the herd running down the centre of the road in formation, with some drivers getting out of their vehicles to have a better look at what was coming towards them.

The herd of 30 llamas and alpacas escaped onto the A66 through a torn fence near Penrith, Cumbria (Sky News)

Farm owner Terry Barlow was spotted rounding them up on a utility vehicle (Sky News)

Terry is then seen attempting to shepherd them away on his farm utility vehicle. Speaking to the BBC, he said he and his team had blocked the road for a short time before they successfully led the group back home. Terry said the animals had escaped after a driver crashed into one of his fences, and left a "gaping hole" without reporting what had happened.

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He said: "Once the alpacas and llamas spotted the hole, they were too nosey to not go and explore. Then a customer came into the farm shop and casually said 'oh, your alpacas and llamas are running up the A66. Anyway, I've come to buy some of your sausages'. By the time we reached the road there were about 30 of them happily walking towards Penrith."

The farmer, who describes himself as an 'Alpacatreneur' and uploads snaps of his animals on social media, also shared some more amusing footage of the herd's great escape as seen from behind a car windscreen. In a caption alongside the video, he wrote: "It’s been one of them days". Cumbria Police told local media that the animals had been returned to the farm, and that they had not received any reports relating to the damaged fence.

Benedict Tetzlaff-Deas