A mother-of-three says she is lucky to be alive after being attacked by a herd of cows when walking her dog in fields near Great Yeldham in Essex.

East Anglian Daily Times: Battered and bruised: Carol Green and her dog Sky by the footpath and field at Great Yeldham where she was attached by a cow. PICTURE ANDY ABBOTTBattered and bruised: Carol Green and her dog Sky by the footpath and field at Great Yeldham where she was attached by a cow. PICTURE ANDY ABBOTT (Image: Archant)

Carol Green, 52, of Goodchild Way, has warned others to avoid the animals, especially if they are with young calves.

Ms Green was walking through farmland close to the village when the ‘horrifying’ attack happened.

She said the herd suddenly came at her, knocking her to the floor and headbutting her.

“It was absolutely horrifying,” she said. “It was a living nightmare.”

East Anglian Daily Times: Battered and bruised: Carol Green and her dog Sky by the footpath and field at Great Yeldham where she was attached by a cow. PICTURE ANDY ABBOTTBattered and bruised: Carol Green and her dog Sky by the footpath and field at Great Yeldham where she was attached by a cow. PICTURE ANDY ABBOTT (Image: Archant)

“I tried to keep calm and walk a little faster but they had blocked the stile. “They were just closing in. The large one seemed to be leading the others.

“Then it headbutted me, it had its head like a bull would have it.

“It knocked me off my feet and then started kicking me about with its hooves and its head.”

Ms Green, who says she has been suffering nightmares and flashbacks since the attack, managed to escape by climbing over a gate and making her way to a nearby fishing pond.

“There was a chap there who heard the screams but didn’t pay much attention because he thought it was youths messing about.

“He put me in the car and took me home, called the police and rang the paramedics.

“I was then taken by ambulance to Broomfield Hospital. I suffered bad bruising mainly. I had to get the back of my ear glued because there was a nasty cut behind my ear.”

In March 2013, a dairy farmer had a narrow escape when one of his herd attacked him when protecting its calf, leaving him with severe chest injuries and internal bleeding.

At the time, Volunteer doctor Andy Mason said cow attacks were not rare and that he had attended two similar incidents where both victims had died.

He said: “They will usually get down and try to roll on people, and as most of them weigh up to a tonne, that can create devastating injuries.”

According to Dr Mason, more people in the UK are killed by cows than by bulls.

Adrian Walters, head ranger at Sudbury Common Lands which are used as grazing land for cattle, said: “My advice would be to avoid any fields with cows when there are calves. They will behave protectively which is only natural. People need to be aware of that.”