A 73-year-old retired doctor was killed by a herd of stampeding cows, an inquest jury has heard. Tom Bolton, of Soulbury, near Leighton Buzzard, was head-butted by one cow and then trampled to death after going into their field to light a bonfire.
Dr Bolton, who had four children and nine grandchildren, suffered horrific injuries, the coroner's court at Amersham, Buckinghamshire, heard.
The jury returned a verdict of accidental death. <!-- E SF -->
Pathologist Dr Adam Pardell gave the cause of death as bleeding around the heart due to chest injuries.
He said Dr Bolton suffered two fractures to the breastbone, multiple broken ribs and a fracture to his Adam's apple.
'So sorry'
There were also injuries to his head and neck.
He was asked by coroner Richard Hulett if a cow's head-butt could have caused the injury to the chest.
He replied "Yes, it could have been a head-butt or trampling on him."
The pathologist agreed that Dr Bolton could have been knocked over and then trampled.
In a statement read to the court, Dr Bolton's widow Janette, a retired nurse, said she had gone out into the field at the back of their home, where her husband was preparing to light a bonfire.
She said she found him lying on the ground and gave him mouth to mouth resuscitation.
He told her "Sorry...I am so sorry. I was silly."
'Quiet cattle'
She said she called out "Help, help!" and asked him "Was it a cow?"
He told her: "Yes."
Farmer Lawrence Phillips, 73, told the inquest that at the time there were 19 cows in the field.
He described them as "quiet cattle that showed no signs of aggression", and said he was shocked at what had happened.
Before his retirement, Dr Bolton had worked at the Bassett Road Surgery in Leighton Buzzard.
The inquest continues.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/beds/bucks/herts/6222232.stm
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