A SAINTS fan was charged by a rampaging bull after it spotted his red and white shirt as he walked along a Hampshire street.

Dan Portsmouth leapt aside "like a matador" to avoid the fully-grown animal, which missed him by inches as it thundered along the pavement.

The runaway bull had escaped from a field and was later shot dead by police after endangering traffic on the A326 at Totton.

Dan, 28, was walking to a friend's house when he suddenly saw the huge animal in the middle of the road and found himself struggling to keep calm.

He said: "I thought it might chase me if I ran off, so I slowly moved out of its path.

"But I was wearing my red and white Saints shirt, which has more red than white. Bulls are attracted to red and it suddenly started running towards me.

"I jumped into someone's garden and it only just missed me. Luckily it just kept going."

The terrifying encounter took place at Kingsley Gardens in West Totton, which is bordered by farmland.

Dan, who lives nearby and works at the Totton branch of Asda, said: "It's a rural area and you might expect to come across a horse in the street but not a fully-grown bull with horns.

"I'm not a big bloke and if it had hit me I'd probably have ended up in hospital."

Reflecting on his narrow escape Dan said: "I was in a state of shock - it was all so unexpected. I had a very lucky escape."

Last night Dan described the incident on social media and joked that he should have worn Saints' away strip, saying it would have made him less of a target.

"Runaway bull runs towards me and I have to move out of the way like a matador. Maybe I should have worn my green shirt instead of red and white stripes," he said.

Police were called to the area yesterday afternoon following reports that the animal was on the loose and could cause an accident.

The A326 was shut near its junction with Salisbury Road as officers conducted a search for the bull.

Shoppers on their way to and from the Morrisons store in nearby Spruce Drive were among those caught up in the drama, which lasted more than an hour.

The bull ended up in a field but police shot the animal amid fears it would escape again.

A police spokesman said: “The bull was first reported in Alder Hill Drive, Totton, and was later seen heading northbound on the A326. Police hoped to contain it in the field but that was not possible.

“An armed officer shot the animal rather than risk it running off again."