Fire crews use What3words to save cow stuck up to neck in mud

Firefighters in Wales were able to save a cow stuck up to her neck in thick mud in a dramatic night-time rescue, thanks to the location app What3words.

The cow, known as Sally, became stuck on the river embankment near Newhouse Farm Industrial Estate in Chepstow, Monmouthshire, earlier this week.

See also: Why farmers are mapping fields with free What3words app

Fire crews from Chepstow and Bridgend worked into the night using specialist equipment to free her on Monday (9 May).

A South Wales Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: “This was a challenging rescue for our crews, requiring strategic planning and specialist equipment, but we’re please to announce that Sally is now safe and has been returned to the herd.”

The firefighters used What3words to quickly locate the cow, which was crucial to the success of the rescue mission.

What3words is a free location technology app that has divided the whole world into 57 trillion 3x3m squares and assigned each one a three-word address: a What3words address.

The technology is used by more than 85% of UK emergency services and is available in 51 languages.