Grace’s story – “I was bashed from cow to cow a good few times before ending up on the floor”

26/08/2023 – Goosnargh, Lancashire, details of an attack involving a mixed herd of beef cattle, with cows, bulls and calves.

It was around 09.30 on Saturday morning of August bank holiday and rather than walking my dog around the houses, I decided to take him into the fields at the back of my estate. There is a public footpath that crosses the field that I have walked many times without any concern and whilst I could see that there were cows, I didn’t feel uncomfortable about passing through (perhaps my naivety!) as the cows were some way off and I have walked through plenty of fields with cows in before. I was minding my own business, with my dog on his lead, not presenting any threatening behaviour when a herd of some 20/25 cows starting charging towards me. There are parts of the incident which I cannot fully remember but I do remember being stood there, thinking that surely they were just coming to encourage me to change direction, never did I think that they would attack me. 

When it became clear that they were not slowing down and they were coming for me, I didn’t really have time to react – I didn’t try to run away, I didn’t make a lot of noise, I just remained still. One cow initially made contact, headbutting me into the direction of another. From memory, I was bashed from cow to cow a good few times before ending up on the floor. At the time, I wasn’t aware that the best thing to do would have been to let go of my dogs lead – I was just trying to keep hold of it as tightly as I could as he was only 7 months old at the time of the attack, and having gone through another traumatic event the previous month, couldn’t face the thought of losing him. At some point during the attack I must have let go of his lead as next thing I remember, I was face down in the field, mud/cow poo all over me, my hair a mass of knots, with the cows continuing their attack, trampling me, kicking me, headbutting me etc. Throughout the whole attack I was screaming for my life with the hope that somebody would hear me, but to no avail. At this point I had accepted that I was going to die there. 

I could both hear, and feel, the cows breath on the opposite side to which my head was turned, bracing myself for their next attack………..

It’s difficult to say how long the attack lasted but the cows eventually relented. I was then just playing dead on the floor, keeping as still as I could. I managed to reach into the pocket of my coat and get my phone (I don’t usually take it out with me but for some reason, had decided to this morning) and whilst I had no signal to call a friend or a family member, I was able to call 999. The police were dispatched almost immediately but struggled to find my location. The 999 operator stayed on the phone with me the whole time while I could both hear, and feel, the cows breath on the opposite side to which my head was turned, bracing myself for their next attack. I had thought that if I no longer seemed a threat, the cows might dissipate but the herd remained in a circle around me, leaving me unable to move. The 999 operator had been discussing the situation with a colleague in her control room who came from a farming background and she suggested that if I stood up quickly and waved my arms around, the cows would probably move. Despite not being comfortable doing this, I realised it was one of my only options and so was psyching myself up when I turned my head and saw all the cows and at least one bull behind me and decided that if I were to proceed, I would 100% end up dead. 

43 minutes after the initial 999 call was made, the police found me. I believe there were four officers on scene; two tasked with distracting the cows, the other two getting me out of the field. I had accepted my dog was either dead or lost but by some miracle, he had stayed quiet, curled up in a ball, only a couple of meters from where the police found me – some task for a 7 month old puppy!

The police escorted me out of the field and I was able to walk home. I refused the police’s offer to take me to hospital at the time, despite being in a lot of pain and blood dripping from my nose, presumably because I was in shock and was concerned about the dog but upon speaking to a family member, accepted that I needed to go and get checked out.

I went twice to A&E as further injuries appeared a couple of days later, including bruising to my head. I had a CT scan, X-rays, bloods taken and an ECG. I had two broken bones in my left ankle as well as ligament damage; extensive and severe bruising/broken skin where you could see hoof marks all over my body; four large haematomas that eight weeks later, are still visible, painful and protruding; pain in ribs and back. In terms of the mental trauma, I am now seeking therapy, at a personal cost.

8 weeks later and whilst the broken bones in my ankle seem to have healed, I still have difficulty mobilising, I have a large scar on my leg and hip and numerous large hard lumps on my body as a result of the haematomas that formed after the attack. 

Somehow, my dog managed to escape largely uninjured. He was limping for a couple of days and appeared to have a bite on his skin from where he had led in the long grass for some 45 minutes while the emergency services were locating us.

 I believe the police informed the farmer who initially denied that the field/cows were his responsibility. Nothing further seems to have come of it though. The farmer does now appear to have put a sign up on one access point to the field but the cows still remain in the field, despite him knowing what damage they can do.

Not an experience I would wish on anybody! For me, I was completely unaware that this kind of thing happens, and happens far more frequently than you think!

Report number 805

292.638.658