Farmer hit with rock after dog walker objects to ploughing

A farmer was left covered in blood after a dog walker threw a rock at his head during a row over ploughing.

Christopher Pine needed staples in a head wound following the violent attack.

The dog walker objected to him ploughing part of a field in Creech St Michael, near Taunton in Somerset. The 70-year-old tenant farmer’s wife, Jane, described the attack on her husband as unprovoked.

See also: Farming near footpaths – the law for arable farmers

Mrs Pine said: “Without any provocation or anything else, this walker threw dirt at him as he was driving past, so he stopped to ask, ‘what’s the problem?’ to find out why he’d done this.

“He was then told ‘don’t plough the footpath’, which of course he wasn’t – he does everything 100% correctly. We rent the field, so in a sense you’re even more careful with what you do.”

After a brief exchange during which Mr Pine explained his right to work the field, Mrs Pine said the dog walker picked up a rock and launched it at the farmer’s head.

“With that he picked up a rock – and there are rocks there the size of your hand – and threw it at my husband’s head, then he ran off,” she said.

“He is 70, and [the dog walker] purposefully threw it at someone’s head. If my husband had been looking maybe two inches the other way he’d have had his eye out.”

Cuts and heavy bleeding

Mr Pine suffered cuts to the side of his head and heavy bleeding.

Locals expressed their disgust online and asked how Mr Pine was.

His son, James Pine, thanked them for their kind words and reassured them that “he’s fine – just a few staples” after treatment in A&E.

A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police said: “We’re investigating after a rock was thrown at a man driving a tractor in a field in Creech St Michael.

“The rock struck the tractor driver on the head, resulting in a head wound which required hospital treatment.

“The incident happened at around 6pm on Saturday, 7 May. The offender ran off after throwing the rock.

“He’s described as white, aged in his 30s who was almost bald. He wore a black top and shorts and had a grey Staffordshire bull terrier-type dog with him.”

A spokesman for NFU South West said: “We were shocked to hear of this awful incident and hope Mr Pine makes a full recovery.

“It is entirely unacceptable for people going about their lawful business to be assaulted in this manner and we hope the person responsible will soon be brought to justice.”

Legal rights

In England, responsibility for maintaining footpaths, bridleways and byways is divided between the landowner and the highways authority. 

Farmers and landowners are required by law to keep public rights of way open and usable.

Under the Highways Act 1980, they can disturb a path surface when ploughing or cultivating a field. However, they must reinstate a good path surface within 14 days of the first disturbance if a crop is being sown, or within 24 hours in other cases.

The surface must be returned to the minimum width of 1m for cross-field footpaths and 2m for bridleways. Signs should be used to indicate the route of any reinstated path.

If the path runs along the field boundary, it is illegal to plough or cultivate it.

• Anyone with information about the incident should call Avon and Somerset Police on 101, quoting reference 5222108016.