These cows moo-ved into an empty house in Hatch End after taking a liking to the property.

Four black and white cows escaped from a local farm and made their way down Oxhey Lane on Monday night before deciding the front garden of a house in leafy Heath End Close would be the perfect place for a lie down.

Neighbour Lisa Hawes, 43, a former journalist, said: "There was a commotion going on and when we came out we found we had new neighbours who had moved in earlier than we thought."

The new sitting tenants at the recently sold house arrived at 9.30pm and it took police and a local farmer unitl 11.10pm to get them home safely.

Mrs Hawes, who took these pictures of the Friesian cows enjoying their new surroundings, said everyone agreed it was an unusual sight.

She added: "A policeman at the scene said we have had horses before but never cows."