Tributes paid to man who died in caravan fire at farm near Oswestry
A man who died in a caravan fire at a farm in Shropshire was developing a market garden with the farm owners.
Dean Lee died in a blaze at Babbinswood Farm, Whittington, on Christmas Eve.
A memorial garden has been started at the farm.
Barbara Jones, who runs Oakwood Veterinary Centre at the farm said she met Mr Lee in July.
“He was looking for a new place to be, to develop his own market garden with the help of his horse companion Big Mama; we were looking for someone with experience to scale up our organic fruit and vegetable enterprise,” she said.
“His passion for living off the land, growing food in a way that is in harmony with nature yet was affordable to all and to market it to the local community, aligned with our own desires to do this whilst regenerating our land and raising animals with utmost regard to their wellbeing.
“He joined us in August and we were all excited by the prospect of the joint venture. As we got to know Dean, it was clear how passionate he was about treading lightly on the planet. He wanted to live a life completely off grid, which we found inspiring and looked forward to watching it evolve.
“At first Dean stayed with us in the house but his need to be independent and outside, under the big sky, together with his preference to dispense with creature comforts that bricks and mortar might bring, brought about the bringing on site of a caravan that he could renovate.
“He lived a simple low impact life that we all need to take steps towards if we are to have a future on Mother Earth and not leave to people like him to compensate for our extravagance.
“Dean loved animals. He spoke fondly of his earlier life with various creatures throughout his years. He said to me he once wanted to be a vet but knew the emotional side of the work would be too much for him. He respected them as individuals and had aspirations to use horses to help him work the land and maybe to deliver the produce to customers.
“If you were lucky enough to have met Dean in his short time at Babbinswood, or before, you would know how honest and real he was in his quiet way. We have started a special place in the garden where people can come and leave tributes.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of Dean. Our thoughts and love are with his family and friends.”
