Estate agency chairman ‘was trampled by his own horses’

A COMPANY chairman was trampled to death by his own horses after taking them out for a carriage drive exercise, an inquest has heard.

James Scott-lee, the chairman of estate agent chain Chancellors, was killed as he returned his horses to his stables in Kirtlington, Oxfordshire, when the horses became startled and kicked him to the ground before trampling on him.

The coroner yesterday heard that Mr Scott-lee was then crushed by all four wheels of the carriage as he lay on the ground. The 66-year-old had been on a ride with two of his horses and his horseman Kevin Merry and the horseman’s wife, Beverley.

Mrs Merry rushed to the aid of the father-of-one, who was still conscious but complained he could not feel his legs.

Paramedics were called and Mr Scott-lee was taken by ambulance to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.

Mr Scott-lee had sustained multiple rib fractures and it was advised he should be kept in for 24 hours, despite doctors believing his condition was not life threatening.

Further scans did, however, reveal he had a broken vertebrae and doctors later discovered he had suffered a stroke.

He was rushed to St George’s Hospital in Tooting, London where doctors told his wife Jill and his son that he had suffered extensive brain damage and they were unable to operate. He died the following day, on October 28.

Coroner Darren Salter recorded a verdict of accidental death.