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A farmer who had to call the police after his cow escaped onto the train tracks has been left angered by Transport for Wales (TfW), which he said did an “appalling” job at fixing the flattened fence.

Calvin Thomas is the tenant at Greenmeadow Farm, Pengam, which backs onto the railway station where he lost one of his cows during the summer.

The cow appeared to flatten the “already worn” TfW-owned fence during the summer, and after calling the police to get the situation under control, Mr Thomas expected the transport provider to come out and fix the fence as soon as possible.

Speaking on behalf of Mr Thomas, friend Alun Jones said: “Luckily nobody was hurt when the cow got out last time, but the field is right next to the station and I’m worried next time someone might be seriously injured.

“They [TfW] sent someone out to have a look and promised they’d be back soon to fix it. When they did eventually arrive after cancelled appointments, someone showed-up and spent an hour trying to fix a 150ft fence. It was an appalling job.”

Mr Jones explained how the fence posts were only put in a “couple of inches” deep, and that the wiring on top was fitted inside out, meaning a cow could “easily trample it back down”.

“The poles were well short and wiring was left balancing on top or sometimes short of the pole altogether. It was really poor work.”

Despite his complaints, Mr Thomas was told TfW was satisfied with the job done, and wouldn’t be coming back out to make any further repairs.

Mr Jones continued: “Since then we’ve had to put a temporary electric fence to stop the cows going near the broken fence, but it isn’t always on, and I’m worried what will happen if another cow gets loose.

“I find it ridiculous that they could sort this by spending a few hundred quid, but would rather put lives at risk and avoid the problem.”

When asked if TfW recognised the “appalling job” allegedly carried out, a spokesperson said: “Our asset management team have visited the farm and found the fence posts and wires to be in good condition and conforming to all relevant safety standards.

“There are no plans to replace the existing fence but all of our assets are regularly monitored.”