Death by lawnmower
Construction boss, 67, crushed as ride-on machine tips over into hollow at his £1m home
A WEALTHY construction boss was crushed to death when his ride- on mower tipped over into a hollow.
Dermot Clancy, 67, was found underneath the Kubota tractor mower in a field he owned – next to his £1million Grade IIlisted home in Penn, Buckinghamshire.
Yesterday, an inquest in Beaconsfield heard that Mr Clancy’s wife Vicky raised the alarm with neighbour Giles Robinson when she was unable to find him on September 10 last year.
In a statement read to the court, Mr Robinson said he had known Mr Clancy – who was joint chairman of the Londonbased Clancy Group – for 20 years. He said: ‘ Vicky said she had not seen him. She said he had been out cutting grass earlier.’
Mr Robinson, his wife Sue and Mrs Clancy went to a ‘dip’ off Common Wood Lane.
‘We looked into the hollow and saw the red of the tractor. His legs were out from under the vehicle. I could not see his face.’
His wife called for an ambulance but the father- of-five was pronounced dead at the scene.
A post-mortem examination found the cause of death to be traumatic asphyxia. The inquest heard that the tractor mower was examined but no defects were found.
After his death, his family, who were not represented at the inquest, issued a statement saying: ‘His huge personality, his smiles, cheeky disposition and big-heartedness will be a loss to the hundreds of lives he touched.
‘Above all, Dermot was a family man. He was devoted to his wife Vicky and his five children.
‘Dermot was never happier than when he was surrounded by his family around the dinner table at his home in Penn. He was a famously generous spirit and welcomed hundreds of people into his home for parties. He leaves behind a legacy of hard work, fun, family values and friendship.’
DC Lucy Berry, of Thames Valley Police, who attended the scene, said: ‘I was made aware he did enjoy mowing the lawn. The house was really far back from the land [where he was found]. It was very, very steep. You had to go to the edge to see down into the dip.’
Buckinghamshire senior coroner Crispin Butler recorded a verdict of misadventure.
He said: ‘It was a very tragic accident. The tractor had fallen on Mr Clancy when he was doing something he liked to do on his land.
‘It is a very, very sad accident. It was an ordinary activity that sadly went tragically wrong.’