Cow crushed farmer, 75, to death

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A 75-year-old farmer was crushed to death by a cow he was checking after it gave birth, an inquest has heard.

Emlyn Williams, 75, from Llangwyllog, Anglesey, died "almost instantly" with all his ribs broken, a jury at the Llangefni hearing was told.

Mr Williams's son-in-law said the cow, a Belgian Blue, had never shown aggression before, but on that night in March 2008 she appeared "mad".

A verdict of accidental death by crushing was returned.

The inquest heard that Mr Williams, a farmer all his life, helped his son-in-law Gareth Wyn Evans Jones to run a 155-acre farm with 170 cattle.

On the night of his death he had gone to check the cow which had given birth earlier in the evening.

High-energy impact

His wife became concerned because he had taken a long time and called his son-in-law to go to find him.

Mr Williams was discovered in the corner of a calving shed with severe injuries.

Efforts by the emergency services to resuscitate him failed, the inquest was told.

A post-mortem examination revealed he had suffered severe crush injuries.

Pathologist Dr Mark Lord said the severity of the injuries suggested he had been charged by the cow and "possibly head down because it was a very high-energy impact".

The jury was called to give a verdict because Mr Williams died at his place of work.

Following a short retirement, the nine members returned an unanimous verdict of accidental death due to crushing injuries.