Monday, September 12, 2011

Helicopter Heroes rescue woman after cow attack

12 September 2011 Last updated at 10:03 ET

The dangers that herds of cattle can pose have been highlighted after a woman was tossed into the air by a cow in North Yorkshire.

Irene Pitham, from Coventry, was walking through a field in Nidderdale earlier this year when the animal turned on her.

Mrs Pitham was rescued by the Yorkshire Air Ambulance and the drama was caught on film by the BBC's Helicopter Heroes production team.

Helicopter Heroes is shown weekdays at 09:15 BST on BBC One. 


A Coventry man has described how he feared his wife had died after she was chased and attacked by a herd of cows on holiday.

Irene Pitham, 58, was thrown 8ft (2.5m) into the air while walking her dog in the Yorkshire Dales.

Her husband, Mike, said: "I thought that they'd killed her because she went up so high and then hit the ground and then didn't move at all."

It is thought the couple's dog alarmed the cows and their calves.

Mr Pitham, also aged in his 50s, described what happened: "One of the cows ran forwards and put his nose under my wife's backside and flipped her into the air.

"She went right over the top and then hit the ground. She didn't move. I just feared the worst. She didn't seem to be breathing or anything."

Mrs Pitham has now recovered from her head injury but has no recollection of the attack. She said: "I think it will affect him [my husband] more. I don't think he'll go into a field of cows in future."

Her rescue by the Yorkshire Air Ambulance on 19 May featured in the first episode of the new BBC One series of Helicopter Heroes on Monday.

http://www.bbc.co.uk

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