Family of woman trampled to death by cow in Leicestershire call for better protection for walkers

Rebekah Morris was died after fatal injuries caused by a cow Credit: PA

The family of a woman who was trampled to death by a cow in Leicestershire have called for better protection for walkers.

Becki Morris was killed by a cow after straying from a footpath across a field, an inquest jury has concluded.

The 29-year-old died after going for a walk with her pet dog at Littlethorpe in July 2022.

The inquest jury found Morris had "deviated for reasons unknown" from the field's public footpath before she came across the cow which caused the injuries which lead to her death.

Her brother, Luke Morris, said: "[We need] more fencing and farmers not being allowed to put cattle on fields that have footpaths.

  • "There should be segregation to prevent it from happening"

He said: "Many farms have multiple fields, they don't all have footpaths, they don't need to necessarily be on fields with footpaths, if they are there should be segregation to prevent it from happening.

"A cow cannot differentiate a footpath from the rest of the field."

Morris sent her mother a photo of the cattle in the field while walking her chihuahua named Zero.

The inquest was told she stopped responding to text messages so her parents searched for her in the field shown in the photo she had sent, where they found her injured.

Despite efforts from paramedics, she went into cardiac arrest and died later that evening.

After the conclusion of the inquest, her dad David Morris said: "In Great Britain, there are four or five people killed by cattle every year on average, with many more being injured.

"From March 2022 to March 2023 eight people were killed by cattle, three of which were members of the public, one of those being Becki."

"The law needs to change"

He said: "The law needs to change, the rules and guidance to protect the public needs to be more robust and it needs to be enforced.

"This is happening time and time again, how many more poeple have to be killed or seriously injured before something is done."

Dr Michael Biggs, a forensic pathologist who carried out the post-mortem examination, told the inquest she had blunt force traumatic injuries and abrasions "consistent with hoof marks from a trampling incident."

Becki Morris died with injuries 'consistent with hoof marks' Credit: Family handout/PA

He said she sustained "extensive damage to the liver" which caused "severe internal bleeding", leading to her death.

The inquest heard that a public footpath running through the field was marked by "yellow posts" and there were signs in the field to warn there were cattle.

The farm owner's son Guy Hutton told the jury there were 17 or 18 cows and one calf in the field and he had "never known the cattle to stampede."

He described the cows as "easy going" and "docile".

Becki was walking her dog Zero before she was trampled to death by a cow Credit: Family handout/PA

Speaking after the jury's narrative conclusion, David Morris read a statement on behalf of the family, and said "nothing will help" them overcome their loss but they are "satisfied" with the conclusion found by the jury.

He said: "Our beautiful daughter Becki went for a short walk with her chihuahua on a summer's evening and never come home."

Subscribe free to our weekly newsletter for exclusive and original coverage from ITV News. Direct to your inbox every Friday morning.

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know…