UK NEWS

STAMPEDING CATTLE KILL DOG WALKER

The woman was trampled to death

Wednesday April 30,2008

By Polly Buchanan

A WOMAN was trampled to death by a herd of cows as she walked her dogs in a field at a beauty spot.

Sandra Pearce, 45, was knocked down as she tried to keep her two pet dogs under control on grazing pastures.

One of the panicked Jack Russells escaped the carnage on Sunday afternoon at South Elmham Hall, near Bungay, Suffolk, and fled into a nearby restaurant, covered in blood.

Staff and diners rushed out to find Miss Pearce lying in the field.

The owner of the cows, farmer John Sanderson, tried to resuscitate her but air ambulance paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene.

Last night it was reported that Miss Pearce, a probation officer from Beccles, Suffolk, died of a heart attack brought on by the injuries.

Mr Sanderson said: “We are all feeling for the family. It is a tragedy. It was a complete shock to me.”

He said the cows were his suckler herd of brown and white Simmental beef cattle that were in a field next to the hall’s car park.

Journalist Dylan Reynolds, 40, from London, said: “We heard a commotion. The cows were making a huge rumpus. A few minutes later one of the dogs came in. It was battered, bruised, shaking and bloody and had obviously been kicked or trampled.

“It is unbelievable. We were walking in the field with my dog the day before and taking pictures of the cows.”

His friend, Lili Gooch, 48, said she had seen about 20 cows in the field shortly before the stampede.

She added: “I saw the cows with calves and they were looking at me in a funny way.

“I am never scared of animals – but I decided not to go back in the field.”

Cows are usually docile but can become aggressive, particularly when protecting their young.

A Health and Safety Executive spokesman said: “In 30 years in East Anglia I can’t remember us having a member of the public killed by cattle.”

The HSE will decide if this counts as a work-related tragedy and if a full investigation should be launched.

Suffolk Police said last night that Miss Pearce’s family were too upset to comment. But a friend, who asked not to be named, said: “She was a lovely woman who was devoted to her two dogs. She cared for her disabled mother for many years until she died a few years ago.”

A spokesman for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents said: “Keep your dog on a lead when around other animals. If you start to be chased, let your dog off the lead.

“That can defuse the situation and it is better than trying to protect it.”