David Blunkett, the former Home Secretary, suffered a broken rib when he was hit by a stampeding cow.
The blind Labour MP had been out walking with his guide dog, Sadie, on his 62nd birthday in Derbyshire’s Peak District on Saturday.
He said yesterday that it was a “miracle” that he was not killed when the herd of cows charged at him, his dog and his son, Andrew, 26.
“I let go of Sadie and she shot off. But the next thing I knew I’d stumbled to the ground and the animal fell over too.
“She hit my side and broke my rib. Had her full weight of around a ton hit me I’d have been a goner,” he told The Sun.
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Mr Blunkett was taken to a specialist where he was told he was lucky not to have suffered a punctured lung.
“I know the public are furious with politicians but I didn’t realise the anger had spread to Britain’s cow population.
“A few more inches and Labour would have been facing another unwelcome by-election in my Sheffield constituency.”