A FARMER who was hit over the head with a large piece of wood as she tried to stop her sheep being stolen, last night explained how she had stumbled across the men by chance.

Lisa Robinson had been doing her rounds on her farm near Picton, near Yarm, and checking on her sheep when she came across two men on her land.

They had with them a lurcher-type dog and appeared to be rounding up her livestock.

After asking them what they were doing, the farmer received an abusive reply and was then hit to the ground, falling from the farm buggy she had been driving.

Once on the ground, she was hit across the back of the head with a large block of wood.

They unsuccessfully tried to force her to hand over her phone, but she refused and they then ran off.

“It was a block of wood across the back of my head," she said.

"I went dizzy. They asked for my phone, so I told them 'you’re not getting my phone'. They said they were, but they scarpered and did a runner.”

Mrs Robinson is now back home after being admitted to the James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough for what could have been serious head injuries.

She added: “I’m a bit shaky at the moment but I’m okay apart from my headaches. It’s just the shock.

“If I was left there on the ground any longer, or there was more damage to my head, it might have been different.

“I never thought that would happen. I was just going to see if my sheep were okay.”

Lisa, 43, runs the family farm with her husband, Tim. She managed to ring him from where she was lying and he came out immediately to the field where she lay.

He alerted the police and the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) was called to the scene.

After the crew treated her on the ground, Mrs Robinson was airlifted to the James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough with suspected serious head injuries.

Any witnesses to the incident are asked to contact North Yorkshire Police on 101 and speak to the Force Control Room, quoting ref NYP-25072016-0247 or contact Crimestopppers anonymously on 0800-555-111.

• North Yorkshire Police have arrested five men on suspicion of robbery. The men have been released on police bail as officers continue their enquiries.