A COW has been killed on Minchinhampton Common after being hit by a Vauxhall Meriva last night.

It happened on the Cirencester Road, just south from the Moor Court junction on the Bear of Rodborough side of the common.

Mark Dawkins, the Hayward of commons, said: "I know precious little.

"I'm not sure if people have been safer necessarily, but this seems to happen at this point in the summer.

"It's darker at night, the nights are drawing in."

Mr Dawkins wants to reiterate to drivers: "Slow down, people just need to be careful."

A police spokesman said: "We received a call at 1.38am this morning by a car driver reporting that he had hit a cow on Minchinhampton Common.

"The car, a Vauxhall Meriva, was driven by a man from Stonehouse who was not injured in the collision. Unfortunately the cow died.

"Both cow and car were moved to the side of the road to keep the carriageway clear and safe.

"The organisation that looks after the cows on the common was advised."

Both the cow and the car, which has severe frontal damage, remain on the scene of the incident, which occurred at around 2am.

A police sticker has been placed on the vehicle which states that they are aware of the collision and cones have been placed around the cow.

Gloucestershire Police has confirmed that the driver has spoken with Mr Dawkins.

Last year seven cows were killed in collisions, three dying in just one week.

The speed limit on Cirencester Road, which stretches past the Bear of Rodborough and across Minchinhampton Common, is 40mph, with many motorists seen to have exceeded this speed.

In June the Gloucestershire Road Safety Partnership chose the common as a priority spot for a mobile speed camera due to the high rate of reported speeding offences.