A pensioner had to be dragged to safety inside a shop after an angry goat went on the rampage down a main street of a quiet town.

The manager of the Eurospar in Carrickfergus, County Antrim, said the animal ran amok, jumping on cars, eating flower baskets and frightening staff and customers.

Jonathan Smyth said the goat attempted to butt a regular customer called Billy, who was buying his daily newspaper.

Mr Smyth explained how the drama began in the early morning when the goat was denied entry into the store.

Image: The goat butts the door of a shop in Carrickfergus

He said: "I thought it was the bread man but when I turned around I just saw this massive goat standing on its two hind legs. It seemed like it wanted to come into the shop and was looking straight at me.

"It was running around the place, chasing customers and jumping up on cars.

"It also butted one of our regular customers, Billy, who comes early every morning to get his paper.

"We had to quickly open the doors and drag Billy inside. Thankfully the only real damage was to the plants which we keep outside. It ate them all but I thought, 'I'm not going out there to tell it off.'

Image: The goat stops customers from leaving at the door of the shop

"There was not much we could do to stop it. The goat just kept running up to the window and butting it."

The rampage at the Victoria Road shop began at about 6.30am on Saturday morning.

It was eventually stopped when a member of the public, believed to be the animal's owner, grabbed it by the horns and took it away.

Footage of the animal butting the shop window has attracted thousands of views online.