Michael Holmes inquest: Husband was trampled to death by cows and his wife left disabled during lockdown dog walk in Yorkshire

Michael Holmes, 57, died from chest injuries after the telecomms specialist and his wife Theresa were charged by the animals at Hollinghurst Farm in Netherton, near Wakefield, in September 2020.

They were walking their daughter’s two whippets, but both dogs were on leads when the attack happened on a field with a public footpath running through the middle of it.

His widow Theresa was left with spinal fractures and is now disabled and has had to give up her job as a special needs case worker with Leeds City Council.

Mrs Holmes told the jury inquest at Wakefield Coroner’s Court that she and her husband had moved to the village of Netherton from Tingley in 2016, and had been married for 34 years having met as teenagers. Mr Holmes was a keen walker and during lockdown when both were working from home, they would take a lunchtime stroll around the local countryside. On the day of the incident, they set off for a ‘quick circuit’ with the two dogs and could not see any cattle when they entered the field.

The path was described as well-trodden grass that linked two stiles, and they did not deviate from it. They were trampled while only 20ft from the exit stile when the cows charged them from behind. A postmortem found Mr Holmes, who worked for Vodafone in Leeds, had 35 rib fractures and bruises and lacerations to his heart consistent with being stamped on by heavy animals.

The inquest heard from three Netherton residents who had all been involved in incidents with the same herd. One, Sarah Burgess, was charged while walking her dog on a lead through the field in 2017, but managed to climb a gate and escaped unhurt. In June 2020, her father John, a retired architect, suffered rib fractures when he was knocked to the ground and kicked by the cows while with his dog, which was also on a lead. Mr Burgess was wary of the herd but entered the field because he could not see or hear them initially. In August 2020, Natalie Bains and her partner had to climb a wall into the farmhouse garden to escape when the herd ran at them as they walked their dog, which was again on a lead.

Sarah Burgess reported her encounter to the footpaths officer for Wakefield Council and her father reported his injuries to the Health and Safety Executive. The farmer, Martin Mitchell, claimed never to have received a warning letter about the herd’s behaviour from the council, but co-operated with a HSE advice visit after Mr Burgess was hurt and ordered signage from the NFU to warn walkers about the dangers of cows with calves around dogs.

Mr Mitchell, who farms with his son Edward, gave evidence and told the inquest that the path had been a public right of way since the Domesday Book, and became more marked when coal miners began using it to walk to work at a nearby colliery. He maintained the stiles and legally was not allowed to change the route of the path.

He claimed to be unaware of any historic incidents involving his cattle, and did not think they were aggressive. He would conduct daily checks on the herd when they were in the field from spring until autumn. Ms Bains said she believed she had seen the farmer and his wife in their garden as she escaped the cows, but Mr Mitchell denied witnessing the incident and did not identify who the woman was.

He added that he had applied to divert the footpath around the field boundary, but HSE had deemed this to be too much of a deviation and rejected the submission. Although the council had supported his proposal, two objections had been received from members of the public, meaning it must now proceed to a public inquiry before a decision can be made. He has already installed a fence to create a ‘corridor’ for walkers in another field.

The inquest continues.