Good moos as pub to get its cow back

An iconic red metal cow which stood as a landmark outside a Smethwick pub before being blown down in bad weather is to be replaced.

The cow had stood on a plinth outside The Red Cow in High Street for about 70 years.

But since the cow toppled and shattered during a storm last year, the plinth has been empty. Now, however, the pub's landlord Baldev Johal has been able to order a new one – from a firm in the West Country – and he has promised his customers a party when it is finally in place.

"I've been looking for one for ages but it's quite hard to find a big red cow," he said.

"I managed to find this company down in Cornwall which makes large animals, so they are going to make us a new one.

"When it's back up, we are going to have a fete out in the car park to celebrate it."

The 49-year-old added: "The old cow was iconic.

"I was in India when it blew down, and I got a call saying it was all over the pavement.

"The head had come off and broken, so we had to put it all in the skip.

"We had a lot of people coming in and asking where it was – it was very well-known."

The cow is being made by a company called Jolly Roger, who create life-sized animal replicas.

Mr Johal says that at nearly £1,600 it is a worthwhile investment.

He added: "They make these models, and some of them are put out in fields to make bulls feel less lonely.

"I just need to get mine painted red. We will have to get the plinth strengthened to hold it up but it will hopefully be in place around March time."

The cow is one of many well-known Black Country pub signs that have become much loved by regulars.

The 3D cartoon mermaid at The Mermaid on the Bridgnorth Road, Wolverhampton, is often described as one of the ugliest painted pub signs in the city – but the colourful comic male mermaid, which has adorned the sign for more than a decade, is one of the pub's most popular attributes.