Teacher attacked & killed by COWS who tossed him into the air and trampled him to death on country walk with pal
A TEACHER was attacked and killed by cows after they tossed him into the air and trampled him to death on a country walk with a pal.
Retired Malcolm Flynn, 72, had been strolling along Hadrian's Wall when the horror events unfolded, an inquest heard.
The herd, complete with calves, charged at the grandad, from Carlisle, before a cow kicked him in the head as he lay seriously injured.
Malcolm's companion, Christopher Barkless, climbed a tree to escape the ambush, where he called emergency services, he told the hearing in Morpeth, Northumberland.
But his friend could not be saved and died from chest injuries, the inquest heard.
The pair, who regularly walked together and were completing the Hadrian's Wall route in sections, had set off from Gilsland on the morning of September 11 2020.
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They came upon four cows blocking the path in a field at Thirlwall Castle Farm - close to the Cumbria and Northumberland border.
A sign in the field warned walkers about the cattle in the field and how they could be "unpredictable", said Assistant Coroner Kirsten Mercer.
But while Christopher changed the course to avoid the blockage, dad-of-two Malcolm remained in the field.
Christopher told the inquest: "I was not comfortable with that situation, they were not behaving in a manner that I would expect."
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He added: "If you look in a cow's eyes it will normally look away, it won't stare you out.
"If it looks away, it will normally disperse. These cows were different.
"They didn't demonstrate any intention of being fazed by the presence of two human beings, in fact they came forward to confront us."
Christopher informed his friend he was changing route, before turning his back - only to hear a "tumultuous motion" as the cattle moved quickly towards Malcolm and he started to run away.
A cow then charged the pensioner with its shoulder, knocking him to the ground, before flipping him up in the air, Christopher added.
He fell injured on the ground, with cows proceeding to trample him every time he attempted to move.
Christopher rang 999 from a hawthorn tree - worrying that if he tried to help his stricken friend, the cows would change over Malcolm again.
When Malcolm made a final attempt to get up, a cow kicked him in the face, Christopher said.
It was only when the air ambulance flew over, some 30 minutes after the first attack, that the cows dispersed in fright, he added, allowing him and other walkers in the area to try to help.
The medics on the air ambulance could not save him and he died at the scene.
Malcolm's elder daughter Julia Proud told of her dad's longstanding love of walking and the countryside.
She said: "The tragedy that happened is a bitter pill to swallow as it is something he had done so many times before and enjoyed."
The former chemistry teacher had been a manager with Northumbrian Water before changing career in his 50s - and was a member of the Ramblers' Association.
He had developed glaucoma in recent years, which affected his eyesight, and was also troubled by arthritic pain in his foot.
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Jurors heard that a similar incident involving cows occurred at the farm almost exactly a year before, where two walkers were injured.
The inquest continues.
