A Sidbury farmer has been fined after one of his cows attacked a holidaymaker, leaving him with six broken ribs.

Steve Adams and his wife were walking along a public footpath through a field containing cows and calves belonging to Barry Fowler.

The couple were surrounded by more than 20 cattle, some with calves. A cow approached, lowered its head and tossed Mr Adams about eight feet into the air. It then trampled him on the ground until he managed to crawl away.

Mr Adams, who is now aged 63, said: “I wasn’t feeling too good at all, I couldn’t breathe. It had taken us about 15 minutes to walk to where it happened, but it took us about two and half hours to make it back to the van. An ambulance was called to the site and they said straight away that I’d broken my ribs. It was a pretty scary day.

“I don’t walk too much now. I’m not as healthy as I was, and I can still feel my injuries now.”

The incident happened as the couple, from Warwickshire, were staying near Sidbury in July 2021, and were out for a walk with their dog, which was on a lead.

Mr Fowler, the farmer, appeared at Exeter Magistrates Court on Wednesday, March 8 and pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(2) of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974. He was fined £555 and ordered to pay costs of £3,000.

HSE inspector Simon Jones said: “The serious injuries Mr Adams sustained when he was attacked and trampled by cattle with their calves were totally preventable.

“Cattle are extremely protective of their calves and even calm cattle can become aggressive if they think the calves may, in any way, be threatened, even by members of the public walking past.

“Farmers should not place cattle with calves in fields where members of the public have a legal right to walk unless appropriate measures are in place such as robust fencing separating cattle from people. Had Barry Fowler done this then the incident could not have happened.”