It may not have been a china shop, but shoppers were stunned when an out-of-control young bull charged through an Irish supermarket.

Miraculously, no one was hurt when the animal escaped the clutches of its owner and ran into Cummins' Super-Valu in Ballinrobe, Co Mayo.

The bull had been at the local mart a few hundred yards away when it made its great escape.

Shop owner John Cummins said: "The bull ran down one aisle, and into the store area, where he had a good look around and came back out again.

"He then charged down another aisle, and out the front door again.

There was a lot of people in the shop at the time, staff and customers.

"Amazingly, no one came directly in his path or it could have been very bad news. It was a happy ending to a story that could have gone very wrong.

"Some of the staff ran after him when he went into the store, but they got out of the way again when he turned around to come out -- and I wouldn't blame them."

By the time the bull was eventually recaptured by its owner, a local farmer, the only damage done was to fruit and vegetable stands.

"People were joking afterwards that our beef was fresh and fully traceable," said Mr Cummins. "He passed out Tesco to get to us. That tells its own story."