Daily Mail

Farmer is crushed to death by tractor ‘after dog let off handbrake’

- By Tom Payne by friends and colleagues as a ‘cantankero­us so-and- so’ who was not afraid to speak his mind. He made his fortune breeding pigs, sheep and three dairy herds across 2,000 acres of land in Somerset. His brother Roger, who built up the Yeo Val

A MULTIMILLI­ONAIRE farmer was crushed to death when his dog jumped on to the controls of his tractor and set it in motion, it was claimed yesterday.

Derek Mead, 70, had stopped to open a gate on his 2,000-acre farm in Somerset when the ten-ton JCB telehandle­r lurched forward and rolled over him.

Friends of the businessma­n said they believe his Jack Russell was in the cab at the time and may have disengaged the handbrake.

Mr Mead was using the heavylifti­ng machine to shift hay bales at his farm in Hewish, near Westonsupe­r-Mare, when the accident happened on Sunday afternoon.

The father of three died of a heart attack despite the efforts of air ambulance paramedics. Police have passed the investigat­ion to the Health and Safety Executive and an inquest will open today.

Mr Mead’s family founded the Yeo Valley dairy brand and own vast tracts of Somerset. Yesterday they said: ‘It is with heavy hearts that we have to let you know our father and grandfathe­r Derek Mead was killed in a tragic accident on his farm.

‘He was doing what he loved and has been doing since he was a young boy.’

Mr Mead lived in a doublefron­ted grey stone farmhouse, which boasts its own horse jumping paddock.

Last night neighbours and close friends paid tribute to the farmer. One neighbour, who did not want to be named, said: ‘It’s unbelievab­le what has happened. Family members have told one of his business colleagues that he was crushed by a telehandle­r.

‘He went to open a gate on his farm and the telehandle­r rolled forward and crushed him. It was thought his Jack Russell dog was in the cab because he went everywhere with the dog.’

Another friend, who also asked to remain anonymous, added: ‘[Farm dogs] always ride in the cab to prevent them being run over while they’re working. We’re not sure whether Derek could have left the handbrake off and the dog knocked a lever, but his animal was involved in some shape or form.’

Mr Mead was a well known and respected figure in British agricultur­e, and was described with his wife Mary, also died in a farming accident in 1990 when he rolled his tractor on a steep hill. Yeo Valley is now run by his nephew Tim.

Mr Mead was chairman of the Mead Group, which runs the biggest auction centre in southern England, and Puxton Park, a family attraction.

In 2010 he resigned from the National Farmers’ Union, accusing the organisati­on of failing to support dairy farmers.

He was elected as a councillor in 2013, when he caused a stir for being ‘disruptive’ over plans to revitalise rough areas of Weston-super-Mare.

Mr Mead co-founded lobby group Farmers for Action with friend Richard Haddock, a Devon farmer. Mr Haddock said: ‘We drove thousands of miles all over the country protesting at imports of foreign burgers and milk prices paid by supermarke­ts … He wanted livestock markets to be strong and built up Sedgemoor Auction Centre to one of the biggest markets in the South West.

‘Everything he did was from the heart, but the industry never looked after him.’

He added: ‘It’s a big shock. He will be sorely missed.’

Neighbour Paul Bateman said: ‘Derek will be a great loss to the community … He could be a cantankero­us so-and-so but he had a heart of gold.’

A North Somerset council spokesman said Mr Mead was ‘passionate about the area’, adding: ‘ He had great energy and enthusiasm … He will be greatly missed.’

‘Great loss to the community’

 ??  ?? Fatal accident: Derek Mead
Fatal accident: Derek Mead
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