Farmer given suspended jail sentence after man killed and wife paralysed by cattle on Wakefield farm

Martin Howard Mitchell, 70, was given a six-month custodial sentence, which was suspended for 12 months, following the incident on on Hollinghurst farm, on Hollinhurst Lane, in Netherton.

Michael Holmes, 57, had been walking on a public footpath with his wife Teresa and their dogs on September 29, 2020, when they entered a field containing cows and calves on Hollinghurst farm.

The farmer had made no attempts to segregate the cows and calves from the footpath and the couple were attacked and trampled by the cattle.

Mr Holmes suffered fatal injuries and sadly died at the scene while his wife sustained life changing injuries that left her confined to a wheelchair and requiring extensive rehabilitation therapy and major adaptations to her home.

Their two dogs, still attached to their leads, had managed to escape and were later found by one of the couple’s neighbours.

In a victim personal statement, Mrs Holmes said: “Having to cope with two traumas has been very difficult – losing Michael and suffering life changing injuries.

“I sustained a spinal cord injury which left me paralysed from the waist down.

“I now have to use a wheelchair. This has transformed my life beyond anything I could ever imagine.

“The course of my life, and my late husband’s, has been thrown into great turmoil as a result of the farmer’s negligence.”

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Martin Mitchell had failed to ensure that the risks to members of the public were controlled.

He pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(2) of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974.

In addition to his suspended sentence he was also ordered to pay a fine and make a contribution towards costs.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Sally Gay commented: ““This tragic incident could easily have been avoided if basic precautions had been taken by the farmer. Readily available HSE guidance states that, where possible, cows with calves should not be grazed in fields where there is a public right of way.

“Where this is not possible they should be segregated from the footpath by appropriate fencing where it is reasonable to do so.”