A Devon farmer died working in a silo of grain which would have been ‘like quicksand’, an inquest has heard.
The inquest is currently underway investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of the farmer who died in a silo of grain in November.
66-year-old Reginald George Nicholls died at Berry Farm, on the main road leading linking Torquay and Totnes, on November 28.
The Plymouth, Torbay and South Devon Coroner Ian Arrow heard at the inquest in Torquay that some corn in one of the silos at the farm collapsed beneath him as he was trying to empty it. Mr Nicholls died of asphyxia secondary to immersion in free flowing grain.
A health and safety inspector told the jury who heard the inquest as it was an accident at work, that such incidents are happening several times on farms each year.
Simon Jones, an inspector for the Health and Safety Executive which carried out a workplace accident investigation told the jury that silos with free flowing grains should not normally be entered.
“Once you start to sink attempts to get out are likely to make you sink further, it’s very much like quicksand,” he said.
The jury returned a verdict of accidental death.
