Firefighters rescue family who jumped in ditch to escape 'angry cows' on King Charles III Coast footpath in Lincolnshire
A family who jumped in a mud-filled ditch to escape a charging cow have thanked Boston fire brigade for coming to their rescue – and for hosing them down afterwards.
James and Kelly Colegate were walking along the King Charles III Coast Path near Kirton Marsh with their three year-old son on Monday, September 7, when the incident happened.
The experienced walkers were visiting the area from Norfolk to hike the national trail, when they were charged by an “angry cow” – with the rest of the 20-strong herd preventing their escape.
"It was pretty scary for us really,” recalls James, 45. “We were walking on the path along an embankment near Kirton Marsh and saw a herd of cows on the top, blocking our path.
"We tentatively gave them a wide berth by walking along the slope down from where they were, but all of a sudden one of the females charged us, forcing us to jump in the ditch.”
Kelly added: “There were no calves with them, so we were really surprised they acted this way. We’ve walked through lots of cow fields before and never had any trouble before.”
To avoid getting trampled by the advancing heifer, the couple jumped in the muddy ditch at the bottom of the slope, with James carrying their son.
"It was the only place to get away from them at that point,” he said. “The mud was really thick and wet, but thankfully my son was in the carrier on my back, so he didn’t get in it.”
“Thankfully none of us were hurt but I had to abandon my shoes as I just got completely stuck in the mud, “ Kelly added. “I also lost my mobile phone in it.”
The couple said the mud was around 12 inches deep, making it difficult to move. But with the rest of the herd surrounding the family, they were prevented from climbing out to safety.
"We felt we had no other option but to call the fire service,” said James. “Our son was really shaken up by the whole event. Thankfully the fire service came out in about 10 minutes. Once the crew members entered the area with large sticks, the cows saw them and moved on so we were able to get ourselves out.”
The couple said the fire-fighters even hosed them down afterwards to get the mud off their clothes.
“I want to say a big ‘thank you’ to Boston fire brigade for helping my family escape the angry cows,” James said. “They were brilliant really, and I can’t praise them enough.”
A spokesperson for Lincolnshire Fire and rescue said: “We received a call at 12:50 on Monday 7 September. Our Boston crew went out to assist two adults and a toddler to get away from 20 cows. The cows dispersed when the crew arrived and crews helped to escort the family back to safety.”
On average, around four to five people are killed by cattle in accidents and attacks in the UK each year – according to data from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The majority are farm workers, but around a quarter of these deaths are members of the public walking on public footpaths or rights of way.
Referring to this worrying statistics, James and Kelly said they wanted to share their story to raise awareness of the dangers cows can pose, adding: “There was someone killed by a cow in Norfolk recently – so it’s something people should be aware of. We do feel there ought to be better signage along that path in Kirton Marsh, to warn other walkers who use it.”