Man, 82, killed in attack by herd of cows in Yorkshire dales

A man has died after he was attacked by a herd of cows while walking in the Yorkshire dales.

The man, 82, and his wife, 78, from Pendle, in Lancashire, had been walking in Ivescar, near Ingleton, when the incident took place at about 1.45pm on Saturday, North Yorkshire police said.

Although emergency services were called, he was pronounced dead at the scene. His wife was badly bruised and was taken to Royal Lancashire Infirmary by air ambulance.

A police spokeswoman said: “An 82-year-old man, from Foulridge, Pendle, sadly died yesterday after being attacked by a herd of cows.

“Emergency services attended and sadly the man was pronounced dead at the scene.”

According to Yorkshire Live, a woman whose husband witnessed the attack has warned dog walkers on social media to “let their dogs go” if cows attack them because they are able to run away, although it has not been confirmed by police that the couple were walking a dog.

Cows have been known to attack both dogs and humans while protecting their calves.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has previously identified cows as the most dangerous animals in the UK due to the number of accidents they are involved in every year. Many fatal accidents involve farm workers, with dog walkers also prone to attacks.

Figures recorded by the HSE show that of the 18 members of the public who died between 2000 and 2015 following an incident involving cattle, 17 were accompanied by a dog.

In September last year, a coroner urged awareness of the dangers cattle can pose to the public after an 87-year-old woman was killed by cows at Linchmere Common, near Chichester in West Sussex.