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Mooo-ve over mad cow phobia ... I'm cured!

15/11/2002

THE GRASS is greener for a woman who has been cured of her lifelong fear of cows thanks to a Swinton-based therapist.

Margaret Hewitt was so terrified of the beasts she could not even bear to see one grazing in a field in the distance, and had to cower in the footwell of her car if she passed them up close.

The phobia, which Margaret thought started when she was chased by a bull when she was a young girl, caused great amusement to her family, who used to buy her slippers, toys and jars featuring her bovine buddies.

But now, she has put her fears behind her after a visit to complementary therapist Albert Sawyer's practice in Worsley Road, Swinton.

Albert often uses his skills to help people give up smoking or get over other addictions, but while he also deals with phobias such as fear of flying or water, he admits this was the first time he has come across a fear of cows.

He told us: "She originally came to see me because of a pain in her spin, but it wasn't there at the time so I couldn't do anything about it, and then she mentioned this phobia. The technique I use seems to work on eight or nine out of 10 cases, and luckily she seems to be one of them."

School governor Margaret, said: "It used to be so bad that if I even saw a cow in a field when I was driving down the motorway it would make me shudder. I've been on country roads and I've sat in the car in absolute hysterics with an anorak over my head. People used to think I was mad. But after this, I've saw cows in fields and I haven't even shuddered."