Dog walker trampled to death by cows

Anita Hinchey, 63, was out for a long walk with her boxer dog Woody, together with her friend Ruth Tugwell and her mongrel Poppy, when they entered the field.

Ms Tugwell told Cardiff Coroner's Court she was nervous of cows and walked with Poppy on a lead up an incline away from them, but Ms Hinchey was an animal lover and showed no fear of them.

Ms Tugwell said: "I was slightly ahead when I saw the cows, they looked up and seemed curious and started to move towards us both.

"They were coming in a semi-circular formation so I was heading towards the end so I could get away from them.

"Anita was walking nearer to them than me. She wasn't ever nervous of cows and used to give them water right outside her house when the river had dried up."

Ms Tugwell said when she next turned around her friend, who worked as an assessor for Investors in People, was surrounded by cows.

She said Ms Hinchley, from Droke Terrace in the St George's-Super-Ely area of Cardiff, looked as though she was holding on to Woody's collar, trying to pull him away.

"She appeared to trip backwards and because it was an incline couldn't get her footing and started to fall backwards.

"I saw her head moving fast and I assume that's when she was hit by the hoof of a cow.

"Her eyes were closed and she was falling almost into a foetal position. I thought she was unconscious."

Ms Tugwell said her friend was completely surrounded by cattle at that point and she decided to run for help when a small black cow charged at her.

Paramedic David John said when he attended the field alongside the southbound carriageway of the A4232, near the entrance to St Fagans Museum, Cardiff, he could see Ms Hinchey had already died.

A post-mortem examination found that she died from multiple injuries.

Peter Davies, the farmer who owns the field, said there was no public right of way where the two women were walking, but the cows were also free to roam near the public footpaths.

Mr Davies said it would have been unusual for the animals not to show curiosity and the best reaction was to "shoo" them.

He said he had been going to the field with his own dog three times a week to feed them.

The coroner asked him if there was any advice that could prevent such an incident occurring again.

Mr Davies said: "If you're walking your dog through sheep, it's vital you put the dog on a lead. If you're walking a dog through cattle, it's absolutely vital you take your dog off the lead."

He added: "Cows are docile, generally speaking. Put them with a dog and that's not always the case."

Coroner Mary Hassell said there had been no evidence that either woman's dog had been worrying the cattle.

"The likelihood was the dog was off the lead and we've heard the dog should be off the lead when with cattle," she said.

She recorded a verdict of accidental death.