Losing little Casey was "terrible blow" to Mid Wales family

Casey Breese died of his injuries following the accident at Caersws Football Club in the summer of 2011.

The club escaped without a large fine after a court heard it would put it out of business.

Casey, whose sister was tragically also killed in a road accident two years later, was playing in goal. He jumped for the ball, but became tangled in the nets.

But as he pulled free, the goalposts toppled and fell on to him, striking him across the shoulder and back. He was pinned to the ground and his friends managed to lift it enough for him to crawl from underneath.

But he lost consciousness and was declared dead that afternoon. The tragedy happened at a recreation field used by Caersws in July, 2011.

The club was given a a 12-month conditional discharge after it changed its plea and accepted responsibility for the accident.

Judge Niclas Parry, sitting at Mold Crown Court, said in normal circumstances, Caersws FC could have expected a fine of £65,000 with an order of costs.

He extended his deepest sympathy to the family and friends of Casey who, he said, had for various reasons suffered so greatly in recent years.

By its guilty plea, the club accepted that the goalposts were unsafe and constituted a risk – and that they had some control and responsibility for them.

Casey's parents welcomed the guilty plea.

A statement on behalf of Shan and Nick Breese was read outside the court after yesterday's hearing.

Prosecuting solicitor Simon Parrington said: "The club's change of plea represents an acceptance of its involvement with the goals that fell and sadly crushed Casey – and the parents were happy with the outcome.

"Losing Casey has been a terrible blow for the whole family and the outcome today will hopefully allow them to try and move on."

The court heard how the goalposts, made in the 1990s, were designed to be anchored to the ground with six metal plugs.

But the plugs were locked away in a shed and tests showed that the posts were liable to topple over even if someone bumped into them or leaned onto them, the court heard.

Caersws Football Club had denied a health and safety charge and was due to go on trial.

But it changed its plea to guilty and the prosecution, Powys County Council, decided not to seek prosecution costs because any financial penalty could put the club – established in 1870 and three time winners of the Welsh Premier League – out of business.

Judge Parry extended his deepest sympathy to the family and friends of Casey who he said had for various reasons suffered so greatly in recent years.

Judge Parry said the risk of injury was entirely foreseeable. The posts were particularly heavy, made of steel and it would take a number of adults to physically move them.

They were unrestrained, liable to topple with very little effort or force, and could topple by someone leaning against them or bumping into them.

Above all, large metal stakes which were to be used to anchor them to the ground were in the groundsman's shed.

Judge Parry said that the risk existed from day to day for many years,

"This was a tragedy that could have befallen anyone at any time," he said.

But it was a quite exceptional case – the club was part of the community, the prosecution was anxious to ensure that its role and contribution should not be endangered, and wanted the club to thrive.

The club represented grass roots football at its very best and despite the efforts of volunteers it made an annual loss.

Any financial penalty of any significance would cause the club to fold.

The prosecution as much as anyone wanted the club to thrive, he was persuaded that the club was committed to continue to work for the benefit of the community and to drive for higher safety standards.

The prosecution had been quite properly brought, he said.

John Cooper, defending, explained how the goal posts were properly secured during the playing season. Out of season they were put in the undergrowth and the stakes taken away – but it was accepted that others would erect the goal posts and that they were used by children and others on a part of the recreational area alongside their pitch, The dangers were there if anyone had thought about it properly.

The club was full of remorse, missed their young member and a memorial had been set up which the Welsh manager had opened and for which there had been a minute's silence.

He added: "The club is very conscious of its responsibilities."

The court verdict is another chapter in a tragic few years for the Breese family.

Casey's 18-year-old sister Kelly Marie was in a Vauxhall Corsa car that crashed into a tree on the B4568 between Llanwnog and Aberhafesp in Powys in October 2013.