Farmer died after tunnel collapsed during dog rescue bid

A FARMER died after being buried inside a hole in the ground while trying to rescue his dog, an inquest has been told.

Gary Davies, 36, had asked to be photographed inside the 6ft hole in fields in Rhayader, Powys, just moments before the newly-dug earth around him collapsed, the inquest heard.

Yesterday, the coroner’s court in Pontypridd heard Mr Davies was walking his small terrier in fields with his cousin and a group of friends around midday on January 13 this year when the dog ran down a bank and into small tunnel created by an animal.

Cousin Claire Burns said in a statement that Mr Davies’ dog appeared to be stuck “deep underground”, and so they called for help from local farmer Raymond Rees to bring his JCB to the scene.

Mr Rees used the vehicle to enlarge the tunnel into a “big hole” in an attempt to make it easier to reach the animal.

Ms Burns said: “Gary then jumped in to get the dog out. He was trying to reach down the tunnel for the dog and, as he did, this tunnel collapsed.”

She said Mr Davies had asked her to take a photo of him standing in the hole moments before he lay facedown in it to try to reach for his dog.

She said the earth then collapsed on his head before the hole closed up on top of him, leaving him stuck beneath the soil for around 20 minutes.

Farmer Mr Rees described the consistency of the soil as “sandy and easily dug out”, and said about “thee or four wheelbarrows-full” collapsed on to Mr Davies.

“I don’t think he saw it drop on top of him,” Mr Rees said.

The group alerted emergency services and eventually managed to dig out an unconscious Mr Davies, who was given CPR by his friends before being airlifted to Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham.

Sergeant Vicky Lloyd, of DyfedPowys Police, said she and colleagues, along with ambulance and fire crews, attended the scene, where they found a “large hole in the ground around 6ft deep” which “was partially filled”.

She said that while they were waiting for Mr Davies to be airlifted to hospital his small terrier appeared from the hole, and that the animal “appeared to have blood on its nose but no other injuries”.

Dr Ravi Hebballi, an intensive care unit consultant, said Mr Davies suffered a collapse of his right lung as well as a “severe” hypoxic brain injury caused by a lack of oxygen.

With no neurological improvement over his three days in hospital, Mr Davies’ family agreed to withdraw treatment “due to futility”, and were allowed at his bedside when he died on January 16.

His wife, Emma Davies, told the court the couple were married in 2011 and lived with their three children in Temple Bar, St Harmon, Rhayader.

She said her husband was a “quiet and shy man” who worked with his father and brother on their farm, where they kept livestock including cattle and sheep.

She said he is “missed by all”. Assistant coroner Rachel Knight recorded Mr Davies’ death as accident/misadventure.