Glasgow can sometimes look a little ragged around the edges on a Saturday morning, but not usually because of the antics of a herd of Highland cattle.

But that's exactly what happened when half a dozen of the hairy beasts broke free from their home in Pollok Country Park and rampaged through the south side of the city.

After making their bid for freedom, the cows went on a two-mile wrecking spree, making it as far as the Battlefield monument before being ushered back to their home by police, fire crews and park rangers.

A bull was cornered after blundering into the National Tyres garage, damaging three cars on its way in, and settling in one of the back rooms.

A manager at the garage said: "I heard a bang and went out to see it wandering around the exhaust fittings, quite casually.

"Then it went through a door at the back and parked itself in the yard, so I just kept it there and waited until the police arrived."

The cows are believed to have fled the park along Haggs Road before heading up Titwood Road towards Queens Park and the Battlefield roundabout - scene of the last battle between English and Scottish forces.

While not quite on the same scale as Mary Queen of Scots' last stand at the 1568 Battle of Langside, the stand-off between the cows and the emergency services raised plenty of eyebrows among Shawlands residents.

Twitter user @sunniestbunny observed: "Not often you see Highland cows running through Shawlands followed by 2 fire engines."

A spokeswoman for Strathclyde Police said: "We received reports at about 10.10 this morning that six Highland cows had broken free from Pollok Park.

"Officers are in the process of rounding up the animals and park rangers are arranging to wrangle the cows.

"A number of cars have been damaged in the area."

Pollok Park's famous Highland cows have been bred on the estate since 1830 and won a string of awards at agricultural shows.

Their latest escapade may not win any prizes, but it is sure to earn them plenty of headlines.