Sue Stubbs visited Seaton Common Nature Reserve, near Hartlepool, and came across a crowd of people trying to rescue a cow near the North Gare car park.
(Image: Sue Stubbs) Officers from Cleveland Police arrived at the scene just after 1.30pm and began trying to coax the cow out of the ice.
(Image: Sue Stubbs) It soon became clear that the cow was not going to be able to get out without help.
The police and members of the public then spent the next two hours trying to pull the animal out of the ice as gently as possible.
Sue said: “From what I could see, they (the police) got some sort of a pole and tied a piece of green luminous tape round the end.
(Image: Sue Stubbs) Don’t miss out on the latest news and stories. Subscribe to the Northern Echo by clicking here
“They managed to put it round the cow’s neck and with the help of members of the public, slowly pulled it out.
“The poor cow was exhausted, and all the time this was going on, it’s calf was running around mooing. Poor thing!”
The fire brigade did turn up just as the cow had been carefully removed from the ice and reunited with its calf.