A FARMER who was repeatedly warned to control his cows has been spared jail after a retired Scots university professor was trampled to death in his field.

Brian Godwin, 83, had been previously ordered to offer more protection to dog walkers using the public footpaths that cross his 400-acre farm.

He had been told to put in segregating fencing or signs saying “cows with calves” to let people know the protective animals are dangerous.

But he failed to act and father-of-two Mike Porter, 66, from Edinburgh, was stamped on and trampled by a herd as he walked across the land.

The rambler was walking along a public footpath through Elbow Field with his brother John and their two dogs. Around 30 continental beef cows began repeatedly trampling on Michael who curled up in a ball to protect himself.

He was airlifted but died from internal bleeding following the attack in May 2013 near Godwin’s Timothy Rise Farm in Turleigh, near Bradford- on-Avon in Wiltshire.

His shaken brother sustained series injuries and Godwin, 83, has now been handed a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.

He admitted breaching his general duty of controlling his livestock at a previous hearing and was sentenced at Swindon Crown Court.

The court there has been various p[revious incidents but he failed to put up any warning signs.