A RUNAWAY rhea caused chaos at Helsby High School after a troop of policemen carrying machine guns and a sharp shooter with a sedative dart tried to recapture the escaped animal. The stand-off started on Monday at about 1pm when the 5ft flightless bird escaped from Lower Rake Lane, Helsby, when 40 heifers in a neighbouring farm trampled a fence. Owner Gareth Peters, 40, of Lower Rake Lane, who works for the Forestry Commission in Delamere Forest, raced to the school to try to rescue the escaped bird before it was shot by armed officers from Cheshire Constabulary. He said: “I rushed home from work after I got a call from my partner Melanie saying ‘your rheas are out and the police are here’. “I was in shock, I arrived at the high school to find about 20 police officers and five of them carrying guns. The police had closed the road off and there was all this commotion. It was like something out of a TV show. “The birds are used to quiet, they don’t like noise or excitement. “It was sat down in the corner of the bus car park at the bottom end of Helsby High School. The police said if it jumps up and runs past they will shoot to kill because they were worried about it getting on to the road. “It was crazy. I could have just walked over and fed it and took it straight home without any problems but the police have never dealt with them before.” “I took a loaf of brown bread over and threw it some bread, then grabbed it with the help of the vet and the RSPCA.” The two-hour ordeal ended at about 3pm and the rhea was returned to Gareth’s home. Sadly, a second rhea was hit by a lorry travelling near Junction 12 of the M56 and died. “A farmer released about 40 heifers into a field next to ours,” said Gareth, who lives with his partner Melanie, 36, and two children Ellie, eight, and Jake, 13. “They were very excited and were charging around like mad and squashed the fence down. It panicked the rheas and they bolted.” Gareth, who keeps an assortment of animals, including sheep, geese, ducks, rabbits and chickens, at the family home first saw the rhea on a documentary and soon found breeders based in the North West. “I’ve had them for about four years,” he said. “I keep them as pets, they are something different and they keep the foxes away from the chickens. They are very inquisitive and they are not vicious at all. “The children have grown up with them and my daughter’s devastated. “We would like to find another one because they are used to being in pairs. “I think if you opened the gate and left it open it wouldn’t try and get out now!” | 
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