Monday 15 August 2022 11:01 AM Dog walker, 51, feared she would DIE after she was almost strangled and ... trends now
A dog walker crossing a public field was almost strangled and battered to death by a heard of cows in a five minute long horror attack in Lancashire.
Sharon Eley was surrounded by 20 cows led by an agitated 'ringleader' which threw her to the ground twice before repeatedly headbutting her, leaving her with 15 broken ribs, a punctured lung, a dislocated and shattered ankle and a broken clavicle.
The 51-year-old was also nearly garrotted when the strap on her bag wrapped around her throat during the attack, leaving her with a ligature mark around and severe bruising.
Sharon Eley was left with 15 broken ribs, a punctured lung, a dislocated and shattered ankle and a broken clavicle
She was walking in the Lancashine countryside with a pal and her dog Ralphie when the incident happened
It was only when other walkers entered the field and managed to distract the cows that the glamping business owner was able to escape. The other walkers escaped unharmed.
Ms Eley managed to drag herself to her feet for a stand-off between her and one remaining cow, which eventually backed down. She was then able to crawl to the edge of the field and haul herself over a dry-stone wall.
From there, she was rushed to hospital by a Mountain Rescue team, where she underwent two surgeries on her ankle. She returned to her home in the village of Blacko, Lancashire a month later.
She is now urging others to be aware of their surroundings when enjoying walks through the countryside.
Recounting the terror attack which happened while she walked her five-year old Lhasa Apso Ralphie with a friend and her dog on May 22 this year, she admitted that she thought she was going to 'die by a cow attack'.
'It was terrifying', she said. 'They pushed me over, I was on my hands and knees and I didn't know how to get out.
'They'd got all around me and all I could see was hooves after hooves after hooves.
'I stood up and then they pushed me down again. I was on my hands and knees again and then they were headbutting me on my back.
The 51-year-old was also nearly garrotted when the strap on her bag wrapped around her throat during the attack, leaving her with a ligature mark around
The keen walker was left with severe bruising all over her body after the attack in May this year
Ms Eley has said she is 'very lucky to be alive' after the ordeal involving around 20 cows
'I was wearing a hard leather backpack handbag and they were hitting it. The next minute they'd snapped the arm off my backpack, that had gone round my neck and it was choking me.
'I'm very lucky to be alive.'
A keen hiker who'd racked up over 30 miles in four days as part of her training for the Yorkshire Three Peak Challenge, Ms Eley had walked the same route just one day before and encountered no issues.
She and her pal walked through two fields with their dogs on a short lead, and crossed the first field with no problem.
It was only when they entered the second field that they spotted the 20 cows, including calves, huddled together around 20ft away.
'My friend said to me 'oh god I'm not sure about this Sharon' and I said 'it's ok, we'll just wide berth them,' Ms Eley said. 'Don't worry, don't run, it's all good, just stand behind me, don't worry about it'.
'Ralphie was on his lead, he didn't bark at them. There were about 20 of them and as we started walking they started walking to us.
'Then the cows ran and that's quite a scary experience, they skidded and stopped in front of us. They
