Woman attacked by cow

Janet Hughes, who suffered a severely bruised stomach and whiplash in the attack on Sunday morning, wants to warn others of the danger.

"It was terrifying. Cows with calves can be aggressive. This cow butted me with its head and a couple who saw it happen said I was thrown six feet up into the air," said Mrs Hughes.

"The cow was stamping when I was on the ground. It was only a foot from my head. I could have been killed."

Mrs Hughes, who lives close to the common in Welland, has walked her dogs there every day since moving to the area two years ago.

"I was so frightened and I'm still shaken. It was an awful experience," she said, adding she wasn't sure if she would dare to walk on the common in future.

She was 12 to 14 feet away from the cow with both of her dogs on leads when the animal ran at her.

"A child or an old person could have been killed," she said.

Mrs Hughes is grateful to the couple who witnessed the attack and ran to her aid.

A farmer, whose family have grazed cattle on the common for more than 100 years, said he had never known of anything like it.

Ronald Bunn said: "I would keep any cow of mine fenced in a field if I thought it was dangerous but normally cows don't bother people," he said.

He said he kept cows on the common all year round and hundreds of people walked on the common and he had never known of any problems.

A spokesman for the Avenue Veterinary Centre, Malvern, said it was likely the cow attacked because she was protecting her calf.

The Countryside Code - a code of conduct for walkers and countryside users issued by the Government - states: "If a farm animal chases you and your dog, it's safer to let your dog off the lead - don't risk getting hurt by trying to protect it."

Mrs Hughes said she didn't have time to drop her dogs' leads as she didn't see the cow coming.

In 2003, a 74-year-old man died after a cow attacked him when he was walking in the Scottish Highlands.