A MAN has died after a cow crashed through his roof and landed on him as he lay sleeping.

According to media reports Joao Maria de Souza, 45, was in bed with his wife, Leni, when the bovine crashed two and a half metres through the ceiling of their home in Caratinga, in south eastern Brazil.

The roof backs on to a steep hill and it is believed the cow climbed up there after escaping from a nearby farm, the Daily Mail reported.

The victim’s mother, Maria de Souza, reportedly told Brazil's SuperCanal TV channel: “I didn't bring my son up to be killed by a falling cow.”

Mr de Souza was taken to hospital with a suspected fractured leg and was reported to be talking and fully conscious. However, he died some hours later from internal bleeding after doctors failed to treat him, his family said.

Both the one-and-a-half tonne cow and Mr de Souza's wife were reportedly unharmed.

Mr de Souza’s mother told the TV station: “He nearly died when he was two and got meningitis, but I worked hard to buy medicines for him and he survived.

“And now he's lying in his bed and gets crushed to death by a cow. There's no justice in the world.”

Originally published as Man killed in bed by falling cow