Children caught attacking cattle herd

Children as young as 11 have being carrying out attacks on a herd of cattle.

Farmer Elaine Thorpe said her animals had been beaten with sticks, had stones thrown at them or were panicked by having dogs set on them. One cow was so stressed it had to be put to sleep.

Another recently had a long cut down one leg which Mrs Thorpe thought had been caused by a knife.

Earlier this week, a bullock had been found limping having apparently been beaten across the back.

She said the herd, in a field off Waterfall Way, Barwell, near Hinckley, had been targeted by yobs all summer.

On Saturday, Mrs Thorpe said she caught three children armed with sticks surrounding a cow called Chloe, which had given birth two days before, and was with her calf.

Mrs Thorpe said: "I didn't believe it was young kids at first but then I actually caught them doing it.

"These weren't little sticks, these were huge branches and they were trying to corner her to set about her.

"I caught them before they actually did it but if they had hit that little calf, they would have killed it."

She said although she and her husband had been farming since 1992, this was the worst year they'd had for attacks on the animals.

"We have had animals with abscesses where they have been hit, and we had one cow with a split eye," she said.

"She had been hit on the face with a brick. One cow has been shot with a pellet in the side of her neck.

"Every week we get a phone call to say there is somebody in the field," she said.

"The other day, last week, they were out – somebody had chased them and the cows had got out.

"Neighbours said it was eight or nine youths of 18 or 19 – some younger – that had got dogs. They were setting the dogs on them and the cows were going mad.

"Half a dozen of them had got out on to the main road. They jumped over the fence."

Police attended the farm on Saturday when Mrs Thorpe apprehended three children.

A police spokesperson said only limited details were available at present as the officers dealing with the case were unavailable, but she said: "I can confirm that we were called to a field off Waterfall Way, Barwell, at 4.45pm on October 11 after a report of three youths assaulting cattle.

"We spoke to three boys, two aged 11 and one aged 12."

Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council anti-social behaviour co-ordinator Madeline Shellard said she and her colleagues were aware of the incident but were awaiting further details from the police.

"We are working with our partners, Hinckley police, to ensure that the individuals responsible for these incidents are dealt with appropriately," she said.

"This will involve a two-fold approach of dealing with the offences punitively – if appropriate – and educating them to ensure that such actions are not repeated."

A spokesman for the RSPCA said it was waiting for the incidents to be reported to them.