Police were called to a farm in Halstead near Sevenoaks at the weekend after a crowd gathered concerned at the welfare of a bull that appeared to be stuck in mud.

They were concerned that the animal had been unmoving for over 24 hours, although the farmer Craig Sargent later alleged that their presence had slowed the rescue attempt.

Two officers attended the farm at Clarks Lane on Saturday afternoon.

A vet was called and the animal eventually had to be shot after it was discovered he had a broken hock - the equivalent of a knee joint on its hind leg.

Members of the campaign group Kent Animal Defenders were at the scene from Friday evening and challenged Mr Sargent about his treatment of the animal.

A neighbour Lynn Hamilton-Berré said: "We have spoken to other local farmers and neighbours, all of whom agree that it is disgusting the way the animal was allowed to suffer."

It is not the first time the public have raised concerns about the treatment of animals on the farm. In December last year, two cows died in the field.

Mr Sargent said he first became aware something was wrong when the bull didn't come across the field for his feed on Friday morning.

When he still hadn't moved after an hour, Mr Sargent went to investigate and found he had one leg caught in the fence.

Mr Sargent said he used a tractor drag the animal, which weighs around three quarters of a ton, clear from the fence.

He said: "I checked him over. He seemed all right and wasn't distressed so I left him to get up in his own time."

By the end of the day, the bull still hadn't moved so Mr Sargent called in his vet, who examined the animal and could also find nothing wrong.

He said: "She suggested we wait until the next day, Saturday, and then if he still hadn't got up, I should lift him."

But when he went to lift the bull on Saturday, around a dozen protesters had gathered.

He said: "They were quite abusive. I thought it best not to try to lift the bull with them there, so I called the police."

The police arrived and suggested Mr Sergeant contact his vet again.

She arrived at around 2.30pm and under her supervision, Mr Sargent attempted to lift the bull by putting a strop around it and raising it with a fork-lift truck.

He said: "That's the normal way to do it. You the lower them down slowly, just letting the legs take a little weight at first, until their muscles have recovered."

But he said on this occasion it became apparent that bull had damaged its hock.

He said: "With an animal as large as that, you can't put a splint around it or anything, so the vet said there was no alternative but to put it down."

Mr Sargent said:"Usually in such cases, you would shoot the bull.

"Because there were so many people there, we though that might be upsetting, so the vet decided to euthanise the bull with an overdose of anaesthetic."

"But she couldn't find a vein - its not easy on an animal with so much fat.

"So in the end I had to call in the knackerman to shoot it."

The bull's body will now be incinerated, as, in general, abattoirs no longer accept "casualty deaths."

Mr Sargent said he had since been contacted by the Animal and Plant Health Agency, which had received complaints from the public about the bull, but he said that after also speaking to his vet, the agency was satisfied with what had happened.

The Agency said: "There is specific and strictly enforced legislation to protect the welfare of all farm animals, which every operational farm must comply with.

"We take all potential breaches of animal welfare laws very seriously and investigate all allegations. Where welfare regulations are breached, appropriate action is always taken.”

But they said they would not comment on individual cases.

Mr Sargent has been farming since 1985, and currently has another 35 cows and three bulls.

He had previously been given a five-year ban from keeping animals in 2007 after a conviction for not trimming a bull's hooves.

That ban has now expired.

An online petition has now been launched urging DEFRA to close down the farm. It has already received more than 38,000 signatures.

Mrs Hamilton-Berre said: "As a community, we are at our wits’ end to know what we can do to stop the suffering."

The RSPCA said: "We are aware of this poor bull and have been actively supporting the Government Animal and Plant Health Agency who are leading on this as they have powers which we do not have."

Read more: All the latest news from Sevenoaks

Read more: All the latest news from Kent