Friday 15 April 2016

"Teacher catapulted to death by cow in front of her grandchildren"

Via Julia M, from The Daily Mail:

A family walk in the countryside turned to horror when a grandmother was killed by a cow that charged towards her.

Breaking away from a stampeding herd, the animal repeatedly butted Marian Clode, 61, before ‘catapulting’ her into the air and over a gate. She landed in a field with such force that she suffered a broken neck...

The family had rented a cottage at Swinhoe Farm, near the village of Belford in Northumberland – and planned to go walking, horseriding and sightseeing.

They were enjoying a walk in the Cheviot Hills on April 3 – the first day of their stay – and were returning on a public bridleway a few hundred yards from the cottage when they saw up to 20 cows with calves running towards them...

[The description of the actual attack is pretty graphic and not for the faint hearted.]

Mr Nixon, 56 [the owner of the herd], said he was on the quad bike in front of the herd with a stockman behind. But he added: "The cattle broke past us, which is why there was nobody in front. We thought about chasing after them, but [that] would actually aggravate them into running faster.

"Unfortunately people were on the track. It was the first time [the cows] had been turned out on the grass. They had been in the winter housing for a long time so it was their first chance to exercise their legs. We were adhering to the health and safety regulations … We tried to do everything right. This time it went wrong and has resulted in something tragic."


In a rare display of respect, the Mail mentions where the family lives but does not say how much their house is worth.

2 comments:

Bayard said...

"In a rare display of respect, the Mail mentions where the family lives but does not say how much their house is worth."

The Mail equivalent of flying the flag at half mast?

Mark Wadsworth said...

B, it would appear so.