Farmers deny charges over cow trampling death

A couple accused of not keeping the public safe from their grazing cows after a woman died in a field have pleaded not guilty.

Rebekah Morris, 29, was walking her dog Zero in fields off Riverside Way in Littlethorpe, Leicestershire, on 9 July 2022 when she was trampled to death by a cow.

An inquest in 2024 heard a post-mortem examination found Morris died from abdominal injuries "consistent with a large heavy creature" and that there were "hoofprints" on her chest.

Marika and Mark Hutton were charged under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and will now stand trial at Leicester Crown Court on 13 December 2027.

The charge, prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) claims that while being self-employed and carrying out farming work on a field open to the public, they failed to manage their farming activities "safely".

That meant members of the public, including Morris, were exposed to a risk to their safety from cattle with calves present.

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