A DOG walker was airlifted to hospital on Wednesday after being trampled by cows in the Yorkshire Dales.

The 55-year-old man, believed to be local, was injured in Redmire, near Leyburn, at about 5pm.

It is understood that his dog was found running loose nearby. A villager realised something was wrong and found the injured man in a field.

He was flown to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough by the Great North Air Ambulance Service with serious injuries after being treated at the scene by a doctor.

Air ambulance paramedic Jane Peacock, who attended the incident, said: "We were called to Redmire at 5.20pm to assist the Yorkshire Ambulance Service with a 55-year-old gentleman who had been trampled by cows.

"He sustained arm, chest and abdominal injuries."

Five years ago, two women were seriously injured by a herd of cows in separate incidents on the same day in Redmire.

In the first incident, a local couple in their early 50s were knocked to the ground by cows, who trampled on the woman, causing a broken arm and fractured skull, while her husband escaped with minor cuts and bruises.

Later that day, a 48-year-old mother-of-two suffered broken ribs and a collapsed lung after she was trampled by cows in the same field.