Farmer jailed over 1940s machinery death

A JUDGE has warned of the grave consequences of inadequate safety on farms after a 20-year-old woman died, having caught her hair in a piece of machinery from the Forties that did not meet modern standards.

Neil Carpenter, 45, was sentenced to four and a half years in prison for manslaughter after he oversaw “appalling” safety standards at Springfield Farm, which led to the death of Lauren Scott.

Miss Scott was killed when she became entangled in a “dangerous” 540rpm power take-off shaft (PTO) at the rear of a tractor, on March 4 last year.

A plastic sleeve, which should have covered the spinning PTO, was dented and exposed the shaft – and would have cost just £75 to replace, the trial heard.

The jury was told the milling machine it powered was also “antiquated and dangerous”.

Carpenter, of Dawlish, Devon, said he was working in the stables when Miss Scott activated the PTO without his permission, but when police examined her phone they found footage that showed him in the tractor probably operating the mill shortly before she died.

The prosecution at Exeter Crown Court said it was proof Carpenter used the mill that day and was criminally responsible for her death.

Mr Justice James Dingemans said the PTO posed an “obvious risk of entrapment and death”.

A health and safety officer who visited the farm placed prohibition notices on 11 items of machinery.

The judge added: “No sentence which I can pass will reflect the loss suffered.”