Cornish farmer fined after cow attacks left walkers fearing for their lives

One 75-year-old man was hospitalised for five days with serious injuries

The cows involved in the attacks pictured along the coastal path (HSE)

A farmer has been fined after a spate of cow attacks on walkers in Cornwall, which saw one man spend five days in hospital with multiple serious injuries.

Brian Gregory, 75, had been on a caravanning holiday at Porthcothan in June 2024 when he embarked on a dog walk with his labrador Molly along the West Coast Path.

He was attacked by a herd of cows with calves, and was trampled and butted while his dog was able to escape uninjured. After being assisted by other walkers to his caravan, his partner called an ambulance and he was hospitalised with injuries including a severed artery, horn marks and gashes down to the bone which required surgery.

The farmer responsible, Beverley Chapman of Tembleath Farm, was told about the attack on the same day and advised to remove the cows. However, she added more cattle to the herd to increase its size, with some calves as young as 42 days old.

A month later, two local residents were also attacked and managed to escape injury by sheltering in gorse bushes by the cliff edge, but one of their dogs was seriously injured and required surgery.

Ms Chapman was again informed about the incident but only removed the cattle when instructed by a Cornwall Council public rights of way officer four days later.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Investigation found that the cattle were being kept in a field with a public right of way across it, which posed a “significant risk” to walkers.

She also had other enclosed fields available which did not contain public rights of way and could have been used to house the cattle, with cows known to be protective and unpredictable around calves.

At Bristol magistrates court, Ms Chapman pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(2) of the Health and Safety at Work Act and was fined £5,260 and ordered to pay prosecution costs of £4,650 and a court surcharge of £2,000

After the hearing HSE inspector, Simon Jones, said: “Cattle are extremely protective of their calves and even calm cattle can become aggressive if they think their calves may be threatened.

“Given the nature of the cattle attack, it is fortunate that the injuries sustained by Mr Gregory weren’t fatal. On this occasion, Mr Gregory took all the right precautions while out walking.

“Despite being made aware of attacks on walkers on two separate occasions, Mrs Chapman failed to take action to remove the cattle or control risks by separating them from walkers on the South West Coast Path. It was only when officially instructed by a public rights of way officer from the local council that she took action.”