Ewe hit by delivery driver left with devastating injuries

A farmer in Wales has urged delivery drivers to take extra care on farms after one of his ewes was run over and left with “devastating injuries”.

Ifan Evans found the ewe on Saturday (25 April) after seeing a delivery driver driving fast down the track that leads to his farm on the outskirts of Aberystwyth.

He told Farmers Weekly: “The bone was sticking out and there was blood everywhere.

Warning: graphic image below

“She is alive, but is not in a very good way.

“They were just going too fast and didn’t give the sheep enough chance to get out the way.

“They didn’t have anywhere to go because of the fence on either side, so it probably slipped and went under the wheel.”

Mr Evans said couriers were doing crucial work during the coronavirus pandemic, but asked for them to approach farms slowly, and to be aware of livestock and children.

Drive slow

The driver did not stop to tell the farmer, but Mr Evans’s father saw what had happened as the courier left the farm and alerted his son to go and check on the sheep.

“The lesson is that they need to slow down on farm tracks, with children being off school at the moment it, is hard to always keep an eye on them.”

The farmer treated the ewe himself to avoid any coronavirus risk on the farm, where he works with his elderly parents.

He said he has given the ewe a splint and cleaned the wound, but is worried about infection.

The local courier company has contacted Mr Evans to tell him they would speak to the driver and work out compensation.

“Fair play to the couriers for contacting me, but it was disappointing they didn’t stop on the day.

“If they had stopped and explained, it would have been a lot easier,” Mr Evans added.

The Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) urged people to respect farms as working environments and to respect the countryside code.

FUW President Glyn Roberts said: “We completely understand the pressures delivery drivers are under. Their schedules are tight and they are doing an incredibly valuable job.

“However, if accidents like this happen, the morally correct thing to do is to report it to the farmer. Driving off and then not responding is far from acceptable.”