A farmer has been ordered to pay a £770 fine plus legal fees after a walker was left with seven broken ribs when a herd of cows trampled her on a public footpath.
Martin Falshaw from Masham, North Yorkshire, admitted negligence after his cows trampled Janicke Tvedt, who also required surgery to remove part of her colon following the tragedy.
Tvedt - an army veteran who had just been diagnosed with cancer - was walking her dogs with friend David Hood when a pair of calves began attaching to her pets.
While walking along the footpath on July 25, 2021, two other animals joined before they knocked the dog walker to the ground and others moved in around her.
The cows knocked the woman down whilst she was walking her dog (stock image)
FlickrTvedt and her friend were able to climb a tree to safety, with the veteran losing consciousness and having to be held up to prevent her from falling into the crowd of farm animals below.
She was airlifted to hospital and required emergency surgery, which resulted in the delay of her cancer treatment.
"I still have visions of three cows' heads this close from me pinning me against the hedge," she told the BBC.
"I've had the best part of two years in counselling to overcome the trauma. The injuries I have are permanent."
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There was no fencing to separate the public footpath from the cattle and no signs warning walkers about the risks posed, the court heard.
A near-miss incident also occurred 10 years ago when a walker was chased by a herd of cows.
Prosecutors said despite there being no injuries, the fist incident should have served as a "warning'" to Falshaw, who admitted his failure to protect the public.
Defending the farmer, his team said no other incidents had occurred outside of these two in the last 25 years.
The army veteran - who had just been diagnosed with cancer - was walking her dogs with friend David Hood when a pair of calves began attaching to her pets (stock image)
PAThe victim said: "I was convinced I was going to die. I was trying to get in contact with my son because as far as I was concerned, that was it - I wasn't going to see anyone again.
"Had there been a child or an elderly person there, they would not have survived - that's how serious the attack was."
She was fitted with a colostomy bag that she still wears today.
"I was terrified. Apparently, I was shouting at the cows. But they were snorting, mooing and grunting. They were pawing their hooves on the ground," she added.
