Farmer fined after woman suffers life-changing injuries from being trampled on by cow in field near Ripon

Former army officer Janicke Tvedt, then 55, lost consciousness following the attack on farmland near Ripon and had to be hauled to safety up a tree by her friend, York Magistrates’ Court heard.

Martin Falshaw, the farmer who owned the land, was charged with breaching health-and-safety rules in that he failed to protect the public from his livestock by failing to fence off his cattle fields from the footpath where the incident occurred.

Falshaw, 70, of Shaw Farms in Swinton, admitted the offence and appeared for sentence at York Magistrates’ Court today when Simon Clegg, prosecuting on behalf of the Health & Safety Executive, detailed the horrific events in July 2021 which left the victim with life-changing injuries.

He said the victim and her friend David Hood were walking her Labrador, Goose, along a public right of way on Mr Falshaw’s farmland near Masham when they came across a herd of cows, some of which had calves.

One of the calves attacked their dog, whereupon the two friends walked away, but they were then confronted by another three cows and were trapped against a hedge next to the footpath.

One of the cows charged at Ms Tvedt, knocking her to her knees and then trampled on her. Despite being badly injured, she managed to get back to her feet and she and Mr Hood stood by a tree for protection.

But they were then surrounded by up to 15 cows and were forced to climb up the tree to escape the baying bovines.

As they scrambled up the tree, Ms Tvedt lost consciousness and had to be helped up by Mr Hood.

They remained up the tree for a time as the cows circled below.

Eventually, the herd left, and the two friends were finally able to come down from the tree and find sanctuary in a neighbouring field.

The emergency services were called and Ms Tvedt, who suffered seven broken ribs, a fractured thumb and severe abdominal swelling, was airlifted to hospital where she underwent emergency to have her “dead” bowel removed, known in medical terms as a colon resection.

She had to be kept sedated for two days and have a colostomy bag fitted during the procedure, which meant she had to postpone a scheduled cancer operation.

She had to undergo further abdominal surgery.

Mr Clegg said there had been a previous incident ten years earlier when one of Falshaw’s cows chased someone on his farmland, although that person was a trespasser with no right of way and no injury was caused.

But he said it should have served as a warning to the farmer that there was a risk of serious harm to walkers and runners on the footpath which ran through his property.

He said Falshaw didn’t heed this red flag and failed to install permanent fencing to separate the footpath from the grazing fields and put up signs warning pedestrians that there were cows with calves in the fields, which demonstrated “insufficient regard for the safety of the public right of passage across the farmland”.

The court heard that since the incident, Falshaw had erected permanent fencing and the requisite signs alerting people to the presence of cattle, as recommended by the Health & Safety Executive, National Farmers Union and the Countryside Code.

Falshaw pleaded guilty to an offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act, namely that he failed to take necessary precautions to prevent people coming to harm caused by cattle – an offence which according to the statute books can attract a prison sentence of up to 12 months.

Defence barrister Tom Gent said Falshaw was deeply remorseful for the terrible events of July 2021 and he and his family were “extremely upset by what happened”.

“He has worked in agriculture for his entire adult life and he is a highly experienced stockman and farmer,” added Mr Gent.

He said the cattle were normally “placid and well-behaved” and that Falshaw had “continually” checked their behaviour before and after the incident.

District judge Adrian Lower said: “It is no exaggeration to say that Ms Tvedt has suffered both physically and mentally as a result of what happened.”

He told Falshaw: “You are an experienced stockman (and) farming has been your life (but) you were aware of an incident 10 years previously where a cow or cows had interfered with another person.

“Despite that flag being raised, you didn’t consider (putting up) fencing to separate the public footpath from where cattle graze in the field.”

However, he said Falshaw was a “man of good character” who had taken steps to reduce the risk to the public around his grazing fields since the incident occurred.

Falshaw was fined £5,499 and ordered to pay the prosecution’s court costs.

Ms Tvedt has also accepted a compensation settlement from Falshaw’s insurers.