Photos: Hazel Laughton via Facebook
The residents of South Lanarkshire, Scotland, were caught off guard last Thursday when their homes lost power — but even more surprising than the sudden outage was the reason for it.
A four-year-old limousin bull named Ron knocked a transformer off an electricity pole while using it as a scratching post. While simply trying to relieve his itch, Ron cut the power in nearly 800 homes in several villages.
Luckily the bull avoided contact with the box as it landed in his field, as well as the sparking cables — which would have administered a 11,000 volt shock.
Owner Hazel Laughton, who runs the East Showtonhill Farm in Chapelton with her husband, Greg, told BBC Scotland she was amazed that Ron had survived.
“We were standing looking at it and the bull just sheepishly walked up to the fence,” she told BBC. “He just looked a bit stunned. I don’t think he really knew what had happened during the night.”
In a Facebook post on the Chapelton Group Page — which has received more than 30,000 likes and 26,000 shares — Hazel apologized for the sudden power outage, writing:
“Our bull Ron would like to apologise to everyone in Chapelton and Strathaven for causing last nights power cut to over 700 homes!! He had a itchy bum so scratched it on the electricity pole and knocked the transformer box off! He’s just happy to be alive this morning after somehow escaping 11,000 volts and a large bump on the head! Think we will rename him ‘Sparky’!”
The Laughton’s neighbors were really just happy to hear that Ron is still alright. In answer to their questions of concern for his well-being, Laughton added a follow-up picture, saying “He is lying in the field not aware he is a celebrity!”
