Woman almost trampled to death by cows in Yorkshire Dales warns of the dangers of cattle

A woman who was almost trampled to death by a herd of cows which left her unconscious and with multiple injuries has spoken of her surprise at the leniency of a fine of just a few hundred pounds imposed on the farmer - but says that the main thing is to make people aware that 'cattle aren't safe'.

Former Army officer Janicke Tvedt was convinced she was going to die when cattle knocked her off her feet and pinned her to the ground as she walked on a public footpath in the Yorkshire Dales.

At York magistrates Court, 70-year-old farmer Martin Falshaw was fined £770 for breaching health and safety laws and told he simply hadn’t done enough to keep the public safe. He was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £4,500.

The magistrates heard that Mr Falshaw had sincerely apologised for the incident.

Ms Tvedt had been walking her eight-year-old Labrador Goose with David Hood when they stumbled across a 30-strong herd of cows in Masham.

She managed to escape when her army training kicked in and she went into 'survival mode', climbing a tree.

She slipped in and out of consciousness before paramedics arrived and she was finally airlifted to hospital.  

Ms Tvedt was left with seven broken ribs, hoof marks on her chest and legs and had to have a colostomy bag fitted after part of her colon had to removed by medics.

After the court hearing, Ms Tvedt said she was "quite surprised" at the amount of the fine.

"But the important thing is that the message is out there that cattle are not safe and I want to make sure this doesn't happen to anyone else."

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