A Cornish farmer has been fined after repeated cattle attacks on a popular coastal footpath left walkers fearing for their lives and a 75-year-old man seriously injured.
The incidents took place on the South West Coast Path at Park Head, near Porthcothan, where members of the public were attacked by the same herd of cows with young calves kept in a field crossed by a public right of way.
The most serious attack happened on 30 June 2024, when Brian Gregory, 75, was walking his labrador, Molly, while on a caravanning holiday in Cornwall.
As he passed through the field, he was suddenly charged by the herd. Although he released his dog’s lead, allowing the cattle to chase the dog away, he was trampled and butted before he could escape.
Mr Gregory was assisted by passing walkers and returned to his caravan, where his partner raised the alarm. He spent five days in hospital and required surgery after suffering a severed artery and other serious injuries.
The farmer responsible for the cattle, Beverley Chapman of Tembleath Farm, St Columb Major, was told about the attack the same day. Despite this, she did not remove the cattle from the field and instead added more cows and calves to the herd, increasing its size. Some of the calves were just 42 days old.
Around a month later, two local residents walking their dogs along the same route were also attacked by the herd. They avoided serious injury only by taking shelter in gorse bushes close to the cliff edge, but one of their dogs was badly injured and later required surgery.
Even after this second incident, the cattle were not removed immediately and remained in the field for a further four days. They were only taken off the path after a Cornwall Council public rights of way officer formally instructed that action be taken.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive found that cows with calves, which are known to be protective and unpredictable, had been kept in a field with public access despite safer alternatives being available. The farmer had access to other enclosed fields without public rights of way that could have been used instead.
At Bristol Magistrates’ Court on 16 December 2025, Beverley Chapman pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(2) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. She was fined £5,260 and ordered to pay £4,650 in prosecution costs and a £2,000 court surcharge.
After the hearing, HSE inspector Simon Jones said: “Cattle are extremely protective of their calves and even calm cattle can become aggressive if they think their calves may be threatened.”
He added: “Given the nature of the cattle attack, it is fortunate that the injuries sustained by Mr Gregory weren’t fatal. On this occasion, Mr Gregory took all the right precautions while out walking.”
Jones said the farmer had failed to act despite repeated warnings. “Despite being made aware of attacks on walkers on two separate occasions, Mrs Chapman failed to take action to remove the cattle or control risks by separating them from walkers on the South West Coast Path,” he said.
The HSE said the case highlighted the serious risks posed when cattle with calves are kept in fields crossed by public rights of way, particularly where earlier warnings are ignored.
