Passengers on a regional train between Groningen and Leeuwarden were delayed by 45 minutes when the driver stopped the train to try to rescue a calf which had fallen in a ditch, the Leeuwarder Courant newspaper reports.

The unorthodox stoppage took place on Friday between the villages of Grijpskert and Buitenpost when the driver saw the newly-born calf in the water.

Several passengers joined in efforts to get the calf to safety but it took the fire brigade to finally get the animal out. ‘It had only just been born, the umbilical cord was still attached,’ one passenger told the paper.

The grateful farmer has named the calf Arriva, after the train company. ‘The calf is in great shape. I just hope the driver did not get into trouble,’ the farmer said.