Teacher ‘is trampled to death by cows as he walks his dogs’
‘He was one of the good guys’
A TEACHER described as ‘brilliant’ and ‘simply a lovely man’ has apparently been trampled to death by cows.
Deputy head David Clark, a fitness enthusiast, was killed while walking his dogs on the outskirts of Richmond, North Yorkshire, on Monday evening.
An air ambulance crew was unable to save him.
Pupils were in tears at Richmond School and Sixth Form College yesterday as his death was announced.
Mr Clark, a married father in his 50s, was described by one parent as, ‘one of the good guys. He was really popular. It’s incredibly sad.
‘He’d been there for ever – even when pupils had left he remembered their names’.
Head teacher Jenna Potter said: ‘He was an enormous character, a brilliant school leader and simply a lovely man who enriched the life of everyone.
‘Dave was always the person we looked to deal with difficult issues and he was a master at that.
‘He never let students get away with being anything other than their very best, never giving up on them. ‘All of this, Dave did with a smile.’
North Yorkshire Police said they were called at 7.30pm. A spokesman said: ‘Sadly he was pronounced dead at the scene. Inquiries are ongoing.’ One local man claimed someone had been injured by cattle in the same field this year.
He said a footpath ‘should be segregated when the cattle are calving, which they are now’. The Health and Safety Executive has said cattlerelated incidents are one of the biggest causes of deaths and serious injuries on farms.
There have been more than 80 deaths involving cattle since 2000.
The National Farmers Union advises people to be vigilant when entering a field and stay away from any animals.
When walking with dogs in fields with cattle avoid getting between cows and their calves and keep dogs on a lead. Walkers feeling threatened should not run, but move to the edge of the field and find another way around.