Farmer died after getting trapped in baling machine, inquest told
A farmer died after becoming trapped in a baling machine while working in the fields of his farm, an inquest heard.
Norman Smith from Brook House Farm in Lower Wood, near All Stretton, was found by a neighbour trapped in the machine on September 26 last year.
It is believed the 66-year-old had been trying to fix some seized bearings in the Massey Ferguson machine when the tailgate slammed shut, trapping him inside.
Mr John Ellery, coroner for Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin heard that Mr Smith, who farmed the land with his brother David, was trapped for more than seven hours.
A post mortem found that Mr Smith died of a cardiac arrest due to crush injuries.
At an inquest held yesterday at Shirehall in Shrewsbury, Stephen Keating – a friend and neighbour of Mr Smith's – said that he first noticed something was amiss when he saw that the farmer's herd of cows had not been brought down to the cow shed in the early evening.
"I took the cows down to the shed and then I heard the tractor in the distance," said Mr Keating. "I could see the tractor and the baler were still out in the field which was strange. Then I heard shouting. At first I thought Norman was messing around as we used to play jokes on each other. But then I realised he was in the baler.
"I looked in the back and could see Norman on his knees. He was completely inside the baler. He was sweating and his eyes were very red. He was shouting at me to switch the tractor off, which I did. I called 999 for an ambulance.
"Norman told me to get a jack to alleviate the pressure. He was trying to explain to me how to use it.
"Then the ambulance and the fire engine arrived and they worked to release him. When they did he seemed to lose consciousness and then they started cardiac compressions.
"They were working on him for quite a while and then his fingers began to move. They moved him into the ambulance once they had been able to stabilise him.
"It was an extremely distressing thing to see, particularly as it was someone I knew."
Mr Smith, who was described as having a great sense of humour and being an outgoing member of the community, was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham where he died on September 28.
A Health and Safety Executive report said that it appeared Mr Smith had tried to fix the seized bearings within the baler without switching off the engine of the tractor. A control box for the baler had fallen to the ground which had caused the rear tail gate of the baler to close. The report added that if certain precautions had been taken the accident may not have happened.
Mr Ellery recorded a conclusion that Mr Smith's death had been an accident.
