A walker suffered horrific injuries after being attacked by a cow during a country walk. Stella Collins told how she was walking on a holiday in the Yorkshire Dales when, in the blink of an eye, "heaven turned to hell".
The 60-year-old said she was with husband Geoff when she stopped as she took a picture, reports Kent Live. But as she admired the landscape a cow began to hurtle towards her.
Within seconds she says it was tossing her "like a ragdoll" and repeatedly trampling her. Fourteen months on she remain in constant pain and needing weekly physiotherapy.
She told how the idyllic scene turned to horror and has left her with flashbacks of the attack. She said: "We were about 35 metres away from this herd of cows when, without warning, this large ginger and white cow charged,
“It just came thundering towards me and I heard my husband say ‘Oh no’ and I thought I was going to die because of the anguish in his voice. I had no time to do anything other than turn my shoulder as the cow’s head hit me and I was thrown into the air.
"I was like a rag doll being tossed around and repeatedly trampled. We were so happy to be in such a beautiful place. It was like being in a part of heaven but then, in a blink of an eye, heaven turned into hell.”
Last year in the UK five people were killed in cow tramplings and dozens more seriously injured. Stella, from Tonbridge in Kent, suffered multiple injuries in the attack, including broken ribs, a blood clot and lesions to her lungs, leg and ankle injuries, whiplash and major soft tissue damage.
Fourteen months later, she is still undergoing weekly rehabilitation and physiotherapy and is in constant pain. Before the attack Stella regularly played tennis, badminton, table tennis and stoolball. She has since tried to return to sports but, after aggravating her soft tissue injuries, has been advised against activity until after further diagnostic tests.
“It is really hard,” she said. “I still have all this pain doing just everyday activities and am just not the person I was. But, I know how lucky I was and I am just so grateful for the actions of the emergency services and what they did for me, particularly the air ambulance. I can’t imagine what the journey to hospital would have been like if I had to go by road from such a remote spot.”
Stella was airlifted to hospital where she spent five days. Her story featured in an episode of Helicopter ER, the Really channel programme which follows the life-saving work of Yorkshire Air Ambulance.
To find out more about its work and fundraising visit here
Ramblers' Association advice on how to avoid a cattle attack
Do
- Stop, look and listen on entering a field. Look out for any animals and watch how they are behaving, particularly bulls or cows with calves
- Try to avoid getting between cows and their calves
- Be prepared for cattle to react to your presence, especially if you have a dog with you
- Move quickly and quietly, and if possible walk around the herd
- Keep your dog close, on a short lead, and under effective control
- Remember to close gates behind you when walking through fields containing livestock
- Report any frightening incidents or attacks to the landowner, the highway authority, the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), and also the police if it’s of a serious nature
Don’t
- Don’t hang onto your dog if you are threatened by cattle - let it go as the cattle will chase the dog and not you
- Don’t put yourself at risk by walking close to cattle
- Don’t panic or run – most cattle will stop before they reach you; if they follow just walk on quietly
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