A man was left unable to breathe after a cow ‘tossed him eight feet into the air before trampling on him’.

Steve Adams and his wife were walking along a public footpath through a field with cattle and calves in the village of Sidbury, east Devon.

The couple were walking their dog on its lead when they were surrounded by at least 20 cows.

Out of nowhere, one approached Steve, lowering its head and tossing him in the air.

Using its full force, the animal then trampled on the 63-year-old until he managed to crawl away.

The victim, who was left with six broken ribs, said: ‘I was not feeling too good at all. I could not breathe. It was a pretty scary day.

‘I do not walk too much. I am not as healthy as I was. I can still feel my injuries now.’

Farmer Barry Fowler, of Middle Knapp Farm, Putts Corner, in Sidbury, owned the herd of cows.

He admitted breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act and was fined a total of £3,555 by district judge Angela Brereton at Exeter magistrates court.

HSE inspector Simon Jones stressed the injuries sustained by Mr Adams in July 2021 were ‘totally preventable’.

He added: ‘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.

‘The serious injuries Mr Adams sustained when he was attacked and trampled by cattle with their calves were totally preventable.’

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