Family in trailer servicing plea

The family of a teenager who died after the brakes on the trailer he was towing caused him to crash are launching a campaign to encourage farmers to get their trailers serviced every year.

Harry Christian-Allan, 19, died after he hit a bridge in Alconbury, Cambridgeshire, in 2014.

This week his employers, farming partnership GW Topham & Son, were fined £400,000 plus costs for breaching health and safety rules which led to his death.

Now, in a bid to prevent similar tragedies from happening again, Mr Christian-Allan’s family are urging farmers across the country to pledge to have an annual trailer service carried out by a professional.

They are also encouraging farmers and tractor drivers to perform daily checks to ensure farm machinery is safe before it is driven.

Supported by the Health and Safety Executive and Cambridgeshire Police, the Tilly Your Trailer campaign will involve serviced trailers being given a distinctive sticker so drivers will know the equipment is safe.

Each sticker will have the individual chassis number of the trailer on it, while trailer owners will also receive a certificate to verify that it has been checked by a qualified mechanic and is safe.

As part of the campaign, Mr ChristianAllan’s family has also created an 18-point check list which it says farmers and drivers should carry out before they consider climbing in a tractor and towing a trailer.

They include checking the handbrake is working properly, checking hydraulic pipes for any signs of cuts, and ensuring types have the legal tread depth and are not bulging.

Jane Gurney, Mr Christian-Allan’s mother, hopes to now expand the campaign so that farmers across the country will sign up to get their trailers annually checked.

“It costs £160 to get a trailer serviced, which is nothing when you earn a living from them,” she said.

Farmers who are interested in getting Tilly-certified should contact their local qualified mechanic or dealership, who in turn can contact Tilly headquarters for details on the certification process.