A grieving widow faces heartbreak as plans unfold to install a large bull sculpture just steps from her residence, where her husband was tragically killed by cattle.
Malcolm Flynn, a 72-year-old retired science teacher, was fatally injured during a walk along Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland in 2020 when cows attacked him, tossing him into the air and striking his head.
The Flynns had settled into their detached house near Wreay, Cumbria, approximately a year before his untimely passing.
Wendy Pleasant, 73, has expressed her frustration with Cumberland Council, accusing them of being ‘insensitive’ after they dismissed her objections to the placement of the four-ton statue near her home, reportedly telling her, ‘You’re just one person.’
The council maintains that it has communicated with Wendy throughout the planning stages and insists the chosen site for the sculpture ‘was never meant to cause personal anguish.’
The steel Limousin Bull is part of the enhancements at the Brisco Roundabout on the new Southern Link Road, positioned a mere fifty yards from her doorstep.
The bull – which will be created from weathered steel – aims to immortalise Cumbria’s proud agricultural heritage.
Wendy says it will be directly in her eyeline whenever she leaves her property and will be a daily reminder of the tragedy which led to Malcolm’s death.
Wendy Pleasant’s husband Malcolm Flynn was killed in 2020 when he was trampled by a herd of cows while on a countryside walk along Hadrian’s Wall
Wendy is devastated by plans to place a steel Limousin Bull (pictured) on the Brisco Roundabout on the new Southern Link Road, just fifty yards from her house
The grandmother said: ‘It’s so uncaring of them.
‘All I am asking for is some understanding but when I asked them to not put this statue right outside my home the response was “you’re just one person”.
‘My feelings should count for something, surely.’
Wendy said that dealing with her nature-loving husband’s tragic death has been ‘hell on earth’. In March, a four-day jury inquest ruled that Malcolm’s death was accidental.
She made Cumberland Council aware of her objection to the statue’s planned location and the underlying reason several months ago, and says the decision is insensitive.
The grandmother said: ‘They seem to be saying that how I feel doesn’t count.
‘But I pay my rate like everybody else – I should feature somewhere in somebody’s thoughts.
‘It’s not as though I’m asking them not to do it. I just don’t want them to put it on that roundabout.’
She said that council officials invited her to view the statue last week in an attempt to allay her fears, but the experience did not change her mind.
She now wonders whether she will be able to bear living so near to a constant reminder of how Malcolm died.
Wendy has already lived through months of disruption while the roundabout was being constructed saying it has been ‘difficult’.
She said: ‘I was diagnosed with cancer after my husband died, and I’ve had to get out to hospital and had all these road works going on around me.
‘At one stage, I was totally fenced in because you couldn’t get along that road.
‘I had to keep my car in their compound and the only way I could get out was for one of their workmen to take me in a vehicle to my car to go out.
‘For them to put this cow on that roundabout will be the crowning glory to it. Nobody has asked us locally if we wanted this statue, and goodness knows what it has cost – it was just presented as a fait accompli.
‘But I do not want to just sit back and let them do it.’
Wendy, 73, has accused Cumberland Council of being ‘uncaring’ after they rejected her pleas not to place the four ton structure near her home
The metal artwork aims to immortalise the Limousin bull Graiggoch Rambo, which sold for 180,000 guineas at a special breed sale in Carlisle.
It aims to symbolise strength, resilience, and the link between the county’s past and future.
Sculptor Ellie Barden, 35, spotted the bull as he grazed the fields at Whinfellpark, near Penrith, on her daily drive to work near Penrith.
When she was commissioned to craft two new sculptures for Cumberland Council, she chose the world price-beating bull as one of her inspirations.
A Cumberland Council spokesperson said: ‘Cumberland Council understands that this situation is deeply personal for Mrs Pleasant, and we appreciate the sensitivity of her concerns.
‘We have been engaged with her throughout the construction phase of the project, making several adjustments to the design and our build programme to support her and some specific needs.
‘We have also undertaken work around her property, including replacement fencing and access improvements.
‘Additionally, we arranged and hosted a personal visit to Grace Forge, where the sculpture is being created, to provide a deeper understanding of the project and its purpose.
‘The decision to commission a Limousin bull sculpture was made following consultation and widespread support for a piece that celebrates the agricultural heritage of the Brisco area.
‘The installation is designed to honour both the history of the area and its future.
‘The decision regarding its placement and subject matter was based entirely on community heritage, independent of any individual circumstances, and was never intended to cause personal distress.
‘The artwork is designed to sit harmoniously within this existing landscape, reflecting the livestock that are already a familiar feature of the area.
‘We value all feedback, and we recognise that the installation coincides with a very difficult personal association for Mrs Pleasant.
‘We remain committed to engaging with her directly to explore any further reasonable steps that could help reduce the impact, as well as continuing to update the wider community about the project.’
Wendy reverted to using her maiden name following Malcolm’s death.
