Parents call for tougher farm safety rules following death

The family of a teenager who was killed while working under a tractor has called for tighter safety controls, to ensure similar accidents do not happen to others.

The incident took place at the premises of Gordon Brown Agricultural Engineering, Enniskillen, on 22 May 2018, resulting in the death of Neil Graham, a 17-year-old part-time engineering student, a hearing in Belfast Crown Court was told this week.

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Gordon Brown and Neil were working on repairs to a tractor owned by C&V Loane of Kesh, County Fermanagh.

While underneath the tractor, Neil was fatally crushed by the forward movement of the back right wheel after Mr Brown started the vehicle.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive Northern Ireland (HSENI) found that a safety feature to prevent the vehicle being started while in-gear had been by-passed sometime prior to it being brought in for repair.

Talking to the BBC after the hearing, Joy Graham, Neil’s mother, said lessons must be learned from the accident.

“Something has to be done, some law has to come in to have a ruling on tractors that they have to be checked,” she said.

“Safety features are there for a reason – to protect people – and to take these off, this is what has happened.”

As a result of the hearing, fines totaling £50,000 were handed down to three defendants, who had pleaded guilty to health and safety offences at an earlier court hearing.

Mr Brown was fined £20,000, Jamie Loane of C&V Loane, was fined £10,000, and C&V Loane was fined £20,000 for various failings towards Neil Graham.

Afterwards, HSENI inspector Anne Cassidy said: “Working under machinery of any description poses significant hazards. This work activity was even more hazardous as a key safety feature of the tractor had been disabled.”