Malcolm Flynn, 72 from Carlisle was walking with a friend along Hadrian’s Wall when he was brutally attacked by rampaging cattle, an inquest into his death has heard
A walker was killed by charging cows after he was tossed into the air and repeatedly attacked during a walk with his friend along Hadrian’s Wall. Malcolm Flynn, from Carlisle, died at the scene, on land near Thirlwall Castle and Gisland in Northumberland.
The 72-year-old was walking with a friend at about 11.45am on September 11, when the cows charged. One of the bovine creatures kicked him in the head as he lay seriously injured on the ground, his fellow rambler Christopher Barkless told an inquest in Morpeth.
Mr Barkless had to climb a tree to escape and he called the emergency services but his longstanding friend could not be saved and died from chest injuries. The tragic incident occurred in a field at Thirlwall Castle Farm near Gilsland, close to the Cumbria and Northumberland border, on September 11, 2020.
Assistant Coroner Kirsten Mercer told inquest jurors how there was a sign warning walkers about the cows and calves in the field and how they could be “unpredictable”.
Mr Flynn, a father-of-two, was a member of the Ramblers’ Association and regularly walked with his friend Mr Barkless – the pair were completing the Hadrian’s Wall route in sections.
The former chemistry teacher, who had been a manager with Northumbrian Water until he changed career in his 50s, had developed glaucoma which affected his eyesight and was troubled by arthritic pain in his foot. Mr Barkless said they had set off from Gilsland that morning and after entering a field he noticed four cows and their calves blocking the path, so he changed course.
He told the inquest: “I was not comfortable with that situation, they were not behaving in a manner that I would expect. If you look in a cow’s eyes it will normally look away, it won’t stare you out.
“If it looks away, it will normally disperse. These cows were different. They didn’t demonstrate any intention of being fazed by the presence of two human beings, in fact they came forward to confront us.”
Mr Barkless said he told his friend he was changing course and turned his back only to hear a “tumultuous motion” as the cattle moved quickly towards Mr Flynn and he started to run away. The witness said a cow shoulder charged the pensioner, knocking him to the ground, then flipped him up in the air.
He lay injured on the ground and every time he moved after that a cow would trample him, Mr Barkless said. He rang 999 from a hawthorn tree and worried if he tried to help his stricken friend, the cows would charge over Mr Flynn again.
When Mr Flynn made a final attempt to get up a cow kicked him in the face, Mr Barkless said. It was only when the air ambulance flew over, some 30 minutes after the first attack, that the cows dispersed in fright and allowed him and other walkers in the area to try to help.
She said: “The tragedy that happened is a bitter pill to swallow as it is something he had done so many times before and enjoyed.” The coroners were told that one of the issues that they will consider during the five-day inquest was a previous incident involving cows at the farm almost exactly a year before, where two walkers were left injured.
The medics on the air ambulance were unable to save him and he died at the scene. Mr Flynn’s elder daughter Julia Proud wrote a pen portrait that said her father loved walking and the countryside.
A HSE spokesperson told The Daily Star: “All large animals can be a risk to people. Even a gentle knock from a cow can result in people being crushed or falling. All cattle should be treated with respect.
“Farmers should carefully consider the risk before putting cattle into fields with footpaths.”
They added that, despite the fluctuation in figures, there is no evidence that supports the idea that such cases ‘are on the rise’.
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