Updated

Officials on Tuesday were investigating the cause of death of a woman who died after being trampled by a herd of cows.

The victim was walking dogs across a field near South Elmham Hall in South Elmham, Suffolk, England, on Sunday afternoon when the cattle stampeded.

Paramedics said the woman, who was in her 40s and has not been named by police, might have suffered a heart attack.

A police spokeswoman said: "She was out walking her dog or dogs along a footpath across a field with cows and a bull in it when the stampede occurred."

South Elmham Hall, which offers accommodation, a visitor's centre and operates as a farm, has been closed as investigations by the Health and Safety Executive continue.

Witnesses said that one of the woman's blood-stained dogs wandered into a dining area after the attack.

Hall owner John Sanderson was said to have gone to the woman's aid.

South Elmham Hall says on its Web site that it covers 450 acres of land that has been farmed by the Sanderson family for three generations.

"The keeping of cattle has been part of the Sanderson way of life for generations and this alone has probably saved the ancient meadows from destruction," says the website.

"The meadows are now grazed, by both a herd of rare pedigree British white cattle and the gentle Simmental beef suckler herd."