MOTORISTS were held up when a major road was blocked today - by cows.

The incident took place at 7am, when around a dozen cattle wandered onto the westbound carriageway of the A64 near Tadcaster.

Officers halted traffic while the stray bovines, which had also been on the road just after midnight, were directed back into a roadside field and secured.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said: "They were blocking the carriageway, but our officers had no trouble moving them."

Updated: 10:37 Wednesday, November 21, 2001