Michael Holmes inquest: Widow of man trampled to death by cows in Yorkshire field where three other walkers were attacked calls for change in law

Michael Holmes, 57, and his wife Teresa were walking their daughter’s dogs in fields near their home in Netherton, near Wakefield, in September 2020 when they were charged by the herd despite the two whippets being on leads on a public right of way. Michael died at the scene and Teresa suffered spinal injuries that left her wheelchair-bound.

An inquest at Wakefield Coroner’s Court this week heard that three other Netherton residents were chased by the same cattle on Hollinghurst Farm, run by father and son Martin and Edward Mitchell, between 2017 and 2020, with one man hospitalised with broken ribs after the herd knocked him to the ground.

Teresa Holmes and her legal team at CFG Law have now called for changes to the law that would require farmers to display more signage warning of the presence of cows with calves.

The inquest concluded that Michael’s death was accidental and the Mitchells have not faced criminal charges over the incident.

Evidence revealed that the owner of the farm had received warnings about the need to do more to safeguard the public from the cattle, including a visit from the Health and Safety Executive just weeks before Michael and Teresa were attacked.

Speaking after the coroner’s conclusion, Teresa said: “I’m relieved that this inquest has ended after a two-year wait but it has been difficult to hear the evidence over the past three days about the previous incidents in this same field on the same farm.

“We didn’t know about the previous problems in the field and now we do; it means this incident could have been prevented and Mick would be with us today. That has been hard to hear.

“All farmers must be responsible for taking steps to warn the public that cows are present and to declare the risk. The coroner has said that more needs to be done. I agree.

“Mick and I had been together for more than 40 years, we have two beautiful daughters together, and he was our world. We were looking forward to retiring together, and spending more time travelling and with our families and friends.

“Not only did this rob Mick of his life, but it has also left me with life-changing injuries. Our lives have been turned upside down and it didn’t need to happen.”

Jonathan Fogerty, a solicitor from CFG Law who specialises in spinal cord injury cases, added: “The evidence shows that more could, and should, have been done to protect the public.

“This was not an isolated incident. Three other walkers had been attacked, two of them within three months of Mick’s death. This was a wholly avoidable tragedy which has robbed Teresa of her husband and devastated her family.

“It’s clear that more needs to be done to make sure that farmers are adhering to the rules and regulations to keep the public safe.

“In this case, the farmer had been made aware of a previous incident and yet only limited steps were taken to protect the public. It is unacceptable that this incident was allowed to happen despite the previous obvious warning.

“Teresa and her family would like to see that, where cows and calves are in a field with a footpath, every reasonable precaution is taken to prevent something like this from happening to another family. We’ll be working with them and supporting them to help them achieve this.”

Farmer Martin Mitchell was issued with a prohibition notice by the HSE the day after the incident to ensure that the public and cattle were segregated. A public footpath cannot be re-routed with legal consent.

Michael was the third victim of a fatal cattle trampling incident in Yorkshire in the summer of 2020. In May, retired teacher David Tinniswood died and his wife was injured when they were charged by cattle while walking their dogs on leads near Ribblehead Viaduct in the Yorkshire Dales. Richmond School deputy headteacher David Clark was also walking his dogs when he was charged by a single cow after a herd became distressed on a farm near his home.

The farmer whose cattle were responsible for attacking the Tinniswoods was later prosecuted by HSE and given a suspended prison sentence.