AN inquest has begun to try to find out how a grandfather came to be crushed by a tipper trailer at Corus's Port Talbot works.

Neath Coroner's Court heard that 46-year-old Robert Gillard died after he was trapped by the trailer of the vehicle he had been driving during a 12-hour night shift on November 4, 2007.

Coroner Philip Rogers told the jury at the inquest that Mr Gillard suffered fatal injuries when the trailer overturned while tipping up to 25 tonnes of coke into one of the bins which supply the blast furnaces at the plant.

Mr Gillard, of Quadrangle, Pyle, was working for the company Multiserv, now known as Harsco Metals, when the accident occurred.

Sean Perkins, a senior operations manager within the coke and iron section of Multiserv, told the inquest that Mr Gillard started working for the company four months before his death. He explained that Mr Gillard, an HGV driver with many years experience, was given an induction and would have spent time in the safety department.

Mr Perkins also said risk assessments were carried out for each job. "It identifies the risk for that particular role," he said.

Among the directions given to workers in the safety procedures documentation was that "under no circumstances are drivers to engage the power take off (PTO) before the tailgate is open".

Textbook

The jury heard that the textbook procedure given for the unloading of the coke was for the driver to get out of the cab, open the vehicle's tailgate, engage the PTO from inside the cab, then get out and close the tailgate.

However, Colin Mew, a principal inspector for the Health and Safety Executive, said he was aware of a process known as "double tipping" being carried out by workers at the time of Mr Gillard's death.

This meant that the PTO was engaged while the driver was in the cab then, as the body of the vehicle was raising up, the driver would walk to the back of the trailer and, at the right moment, release the tailgate.

"I presume it is because the body is higher when you release the tailgate and the load shoots out," said Mr Mew.

In his findings, he said the body of the vehicle was raised before the tailgate was open and there was an offset to the rear of the axle due to a spillage of coke which caused the tipper to overturn and crush Mr Gillard.

However, Mr Mew said he also thought a conversation Mr Gillard had the night he died could have delayed his return to the cab.

"I do not think Mr Gillard intended to fully release the body before he released the tailgate," he said.

Since the accident, a person has been hired to ensure any spillages on the wharf are cleared away.

Consultant pathologist Alan Dawson gave the cause of death in the case as multiple injuries.

The inquest continues.

emma.denholm@swwmedia.co.uk