Wales News Service
Nicholas Prest and his wife Anthea deny failing to discharge health and safety duties at a trial at Newport Crown Court
A man died after becoming trapped under an overturned all-terrain vehicle (ATV) while working on farmland, a court has heard.
Self-employed gardener, Paul Marsden, 47, had been doing regular work for Nicholas Prest, 71, and his wife Anthea, 70, on land near Pilstone House, Llandogo, in Monmouthshire, but died of asphyxia in April 2020 after the quad bike he was riding crushed him.
The court was told Mr Marsden, who was not wearing a helmet, had not been trained on how to use the vehicle – nor had the quad bike undergone daily checks or proper tyre checks.
Mr and Ms Prest are jointly accused of failing to discharge health and safety duties. Both deny the charge.
Fellow contractor Nick Miles, who was working with the victim on the day of the accident, told Newport Crown Court he had gone to look for Mr Marsden after he had failed to return to the house for lunch as usual.
The last time Mr Miles saw him alive was around 10:10 that morning, after which he had gone to spray weedkiller on nearby fields.
Mr Miles recalled how he spotted the overturned vehicle.
“I hoped he would be stood next to it. When I got closer I could see he was underneath it,” he said.
Mr Miles said the quad bike had come down on Mr Marsden’s back and he could see his arm outstretched.
“I shouted to him as I got close. I could see he was starting to go blue,” he told the court.
A post-mortem examination later concluded Mr Marsden had died of asphyxia.
Tyre pressure
The court was told both men both had worked for the couple as contractors two or three days every week at their country home and neighbouring farm.
Mr Miles said prior to the incident he had not received any formal training on how to drive an ATV safety.
“We didn’t check them, we just rode them around. If there was anything obvious we would have stopped,” he said.
James Puzey, prosecuting, asked Mr Miles if checks were carried on the vehicle’s tyre pressure.
He responded: “If you noticed the tyres, you might pump them up, but otherwise you wouldn’t do anything.”
He said the tyres had been inflated to between eight and 10 PSI when in fact they should have been inflated to five PSI – something Mr Miles said was only discovered when a new tyre was put on to the quad bike.
“I think it was Nick [Prest] that told us it should be five. More was not good for it.
“We had no gauge to check the pressure accurately. We had a general purpose gauge.”
He said neither he nor Mr Marsden wore helmets or conducted daily checks on the ATVs.
During cross examination, Keith Morton KC, defending, asked why Mr Miles had not worn a helmet which was hanging in a storage area.
“My attention was never drawn to it. I didn’t know it was for us to use,” he said.
Six months after Mr Marsden’s death, Mr Miles said he went on an ATV training course organised and paid for by Mr Prest, which included training on how to ride the vehicle safely.
“I did not appreciate the importance of leaning your body over to improve the handling and stability of the quad bike,” said Mr Miles.
The trial continues.
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