Hero farmer's death an accident

10:42am Thursday 17th July 2008

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A HEROIC husband died after being attacked by a rampaging bull on a Herefordshire farm, an inquest heard.

Mick Daw, from Hope-under-Dinmore, was attempting to prize the 600kg Belgian Blue bull away from Geoff Price who had got into trouble while trying to move the beast to another part of Hampton Park Farm at Stoke Prior, near Leominster.

An inquest in Hereford heard that at the time of the attack, on March 1 2007, the farm’s owner Graham Beaumont had been in hospital having been injured by the same animal. It emerged he was trying to replace the bull’s ear tag to comply with Defra rules when he was charged.

Mr Price, from Llancloudy, Monmouthshire, had sold the bull to Mr Beaumont 12 months earlier and said it was more aggressive than other bulls on the farm.

The pair survived with bruising and chest injuries but Mr Daw, who also owned cattle on the farm, died. Mr Price said he would be eternally grateful to Mr Daw for his actions. The bull was later destroyed by police marksmen.

Mr Beaumont told the inquest he was attacked after moving and tagging the bull so he wouldn’t be breaking Department for Food and Rural Affairs rules. Bleeding and in pain, he was was able to stagger to safety and raise the alarm.

Later that day five people, including Mr Daw and his wife Ann, met at the farm to decide how to move the bull back to its permanent pen.

During this discussion, the group heard a cry for help from Mr Price who had already approached the bull and been thrown to the floor close to a cattle crush.

Anthony Walker, a Leominster resident who used to live on the farm and was a member of the group, rushed to help along with Mr Daw, dragging the victim out of the crush. The bull then turned on them.

Mrs Daw said her husband tried to escape in a different direction from Mr Walker but ended up being pinned to the floor by the animal behind a pile of silage bails. She said her husband was crying out for help but there was little they could do.

Pathologist Dr Mark Hayes said he died from multiple chest and spinal injuries.

Deputy Herefordshire coroner Mark Bricknell said Mr Daw acted heroically but sadly paid the ultimate price, adding the group’s actions were ‘well meaning’ but ‘foolhardy’.

Mr Bricknall said Defra ‘may not appreciate the difficulty in tagging’ and suggested two people should be involved in the process.

He recorded a verdict of accidental death.