A wealthy couple’s gardener who was killed at their £2.5million mansion was not given proper training or safety gear, a court heard.
Defence chief Nicholas Prest, 71, and his wife Anthea, 70, are accused of failing to prepare gardener Paul Marsden to carry out his tasks before he was crushed to death whilst working at their property near Llandogo, Monmouthshire, south Wales.
Mr Marsden, 48, who was from the Forest of Dean, had been employed by the couple to spruce up the grounds of their 15-acre estate since 2013.
The gardener had been using a quad bike to spray weed killer on the farmland surrounding their home when he fell and was killed in April 2020.
Prosecutor James Puzey said Mr and Mrs Prest ‘had a legal responsibility to ensure that the workers on their land were safe.’
Mr Puzey said the couple failed to do what they ‘would have and should have done’ to prevent the accident by not providing adequate training and PPE.
Mr Puzey said that a Health and Safety Executive investigation concluded ‘that the use of the quadbike was seriously unsafe and that no suitable safety precautions were taken beforehand’.
On the day of the tragedy, Mr Marsden had brought cake to work to share with fellow worker, Mr Miles, at their break time with a cup of coffee – but didn’t show up to their planned meeting.
Defence chief Nicholas Prest, 71 (pictured left) and his wife Anthea, 70 (pictured right) leaving court
Mr Marsden – who was from the Forest of Dean – had been using a quad bike to spray weed killer when he fell from the vehicle at the home (pictured) belonging to the couple in April 2020
Mr Miles, who had been power washing the couple’s swimming pool and surrounding garden furniture, said he began to get concerned when Mr Marsden didn’t arrive.
He said: ‘I was getting ready to pressure wash the stone slabs around the swimming pool and the garden furniture around the swimming pool.
‘When I turned up Paul (Marsden) was busy putting weedkiller into the quadbike sprayer and filling it with water.
‘He seemed fine, we had a general chat. He seemed his normal self. He brought some cakes in he said he had brought them in for breaktime.’
Mr Miles said the last time he saw Mr Marsden was around 10.10am when he drove off on the bike.
He said: ‘We normally have a break around 11am. If Paul was working we would try and have it together.’
But when Mr Miles returned to work after having his break alone and then stopped for lunch just after 1pm, Mr Marsden still hadn’t turned up.
At about 1.30pm Mr Miles went to look for his colleague, and found him at the top of a steep field beneath the quad bike, which had overturned.
The Prests have previously hosted a number of garden parties at the Pilstone House home as charity fundraising events. Pictured: mother-of-three Anthea Prest
Nicholas Prest, 71 (pictured) used to work for the Ministry of Defence before setting up his own companies and is now the chairman of defence technology giant Cohort
A post mortem examination revealed that he died of asphyxia.
Mr Miles said he was ‘distraught’ by his friend’s death. He said he raised the alarm by calling a neighbouring farmer and ringing the emergency services.
Mr Miles also said that he only went on a course on how to safely use the quad bike after the tragedy, where he learnt proper riding technique as well as how to check the vehicle was fit for use.
Prosecutor Mr Puzey told the court how Mr Marsden had not been trained to drive the vehicle, was not provided with PPE, and the Prests had not ensured the weight of the herbicide tank was safe.
He said the land where the accident happened was also ‘relatively steep, with uneven and rough ground conditions.’
He said: ‘There were a series of factors here that would have increased the risk of an accident such as this happening.
‘Mr and Mrs Prest would have and should have done something to control that risk.’
Newport Crown Court heard how Mr Marsden had worked on the fields surrounding the Prests’ home that they were renting from a nearby farmer for grazing cattle.
Pictured: the Prests’ garden at their luxury country home near Llandogo, Monmouthshire, south Wales
The Prests rented the 42.6 acres of farmland where Mr Marsden was found for £27,500 per term, and in turn received common agricultural funding payments for £16,651 in 2020.
Former Ministry of Defence official Mr Prest and his mother-of-three wife do not face charges of manslaughter.
But they are each accused of two charges under the Health and Safety at Work act in relation to Mr Marsden’s death, including failing to check that workers had protective equipment and that the quad bike was safe to use.
One charge states the Prests didn’t check if workers, including Paul Marsden, were ‘exposed to risks arising from the failure to provide suitable and sufficient training and plant and personal protective equipment when using all-terrain vehicles.’
The other charge stated that the couple ‘failed to take such measures as it was reasonable for you to take to ensure, so far as was reasonably practicable, that plants provided for use, namely that an all-terrain vehicle, was safe and without risk to non-employees, namely Paul Marsden, for use on the premises.’
Keith Morton KC, defending, said Mr Marsen had been working on a self-employed basis and at his own risk.
Mr Prest previously worked for the MoD before setting up his own companies and is now the chairman of defence technology giant Cohort.
He lives with his wife Anthea at the sprawling countryside house close to the village of Llandogo, in Monmouthshire, which overlooks the River Wye and across into the Forest of Dean.
The couple have previously hosted a number of garden parties at the Pilstone House home as charity fundraising events for causes such as the NHS and Ukraine.
The trial, at Newport Crown Court, continues.
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