Birchgrove man crushed by his tractor months before retirement

A BIRCHGROVE man was killed in a tractor accident just months before his retirement, an inquest has heard.

Peter Wilkins was crushed under the wheels of his tractor as he started it on the farmland he owned with his wife.

Swansea coroner's court heard Mr Wilkins, from Birchgrove Road, was a HGV lorry driver who was looking forward to his retirement, when he planned to show a vintage tractor he was restoring.

Llansamlet-born Mr Wilkins was described as "proud, hard-working man" who had bought 30 acres of land called Plas Bach farm near Birchgrove with his wife Cheryl.

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On February 26 last year, the couple had gone to the farm and while Mrs Wilkins cleaned out the stables, Mr Wilkins went to the workshop to get a tractor and trailer.

Mrs Wilkins heard a loud bang coming from the building and ran to see what had happened — she found her 64-year-old husband trapped and unresponsive underneath. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The inquest heard Mr Wilkins was in the habit of starting his 1962 David Brown tractor while standing on the side step rather than sitting on the seat.

PC Robert Ball, an expert examiner from South Wales Police's commercial vehicles unit, said it appeared the tractor had been in gear when he started it, causing the vehicle to "leap" forward and causing Mr Wilkins to lose his balance and fall under the wheels.

The inquest heard the cause of death was multiple injuries.

Returning a verdict of accidental death, the coroner Philip Rogers said: "Mr Wilkins was usually very careful, and was an experienced man — this was a tragic accident."