Farmer died after tractor accident

AN inquest has heard how a farmer from Shepreth died after an accident while he was working.

Brian Day, 70, from Bexwell Farm, became trapped by a trailer which was attached to a tractor he was fixing on July 31 last year.

Robin Mynott, a friend of Mr Day, who was working across the road from the farm at the time of the accident, told the inquest: "Brian was very fit and healthy. He had been a farmer all his life and was very experienced.

"His wife came over saying he was trapped under a trailer.

"When I got there I could see it had come down on top of him and could just see his legs."

Mr Mynott told the jury at the inquest in Cambridge how it was Mr Day's son, Stephen, who had managed to free his father from the trailer.

"He got another tractor to lift up the trailer and got him out.

"We did mouth-to-mouth for a few minutes until the paramedics arrived."

Mr Day, who ran the farm with his son, was working on his own to fix the tractor before taking it out into the fields to meet his son.

Jane Morris, health and safety inspector, explained to the jury that at the back of the Zetor tractor 95/40 were two connections which the trailer was attached to - one for the brakes, and one hydraulic pipe which controlled the lifting of the trailer.

She said: "The trailer wasn't propped up, and was being held purely by the hydraulics.

"Mr Day was removing or fixing the pipe for the brakes, but undid the hydraulics pipe which controls the lifting of the trailer.

"This released the hydraulic oil so the ­mech-anism no longer worked, and the trailer then came down on top of him.

"It is not very noisy when it comes down."

Mr Day was taken to Addenbrooke's hospital where he was revived after a cardiac arrest.

However, after being transferred to the neuro-sciences department Mr Day's condition ­de-teriorated and he died on August 4.

The jury returned a verdict of accidental death.