Farmer found dead in field 'trampled to death by own cattle'
A farmer who died while feeding his animals was likely trampled to death by his own cattle, police say.
Officers were called to Pinstraw Farm in Groombridge, East Sussex, after the body of a man was found by his partner in field containing Aberdeen Angus cows, calves and a bull.
Sussex Police said the farmer, named locally as 64-year-old Stephen Sandys, had been pronounced dead at the scene on Friday evening.
“At this time we are not treating this as suspicious and it is believed the farmer may have been trampled by livestock,” a spokesman for the force said.
“The investigation has been passed to Her Majesty's coroner, and all emergency services personnel have left the scene.”
A nine-year-old bull in the field is thought to have been put down by authorities when its aggressive behaviour initially made it unsafe for emergency services to enter the field and attend to the farmer.
Frank Langrish, from the National Farmers' Union, told BBC Sussex the circumstances of Mr Sandys’s death were rare for a farmer.
“While this isn't an uncommon occurrence, it's unusual especially for a farmer to be killed in this situation,” he said.
“Cattle can be unpredictable but this breed of cattle are normally quite docile and easy to handle.”
Additional reporting by PA
