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Dad NOT GUILTY of gross negligence manslaughter after hitting son, 3, with defective farm vehicle

A dad has been found not guilty of gross negligence manslaughter after hitting his three-year-old son with a defective farm vehicle. Albie Speakman suffered catastrophic injuries after Neil Speakman, 39, reversed a telehandler into him in Bury, on July 16, 2022.

The collision happened in a yard next to a small garden area at the front of the farmhouse on Bentley Hall Road, Walshaw, where a few minutes earlier the father had left Albie to play with their two pet dogs, jurors were told.

While Mr Speakman had used the Kramer telehandler before, he was not officially trained, his trial heard. The machine had various defects, including a missing wing mirror. The prosecution told jurors at the Minshull Street Crown Court trial Albie died 'as a result of his father's negligence, which created a serious and obvious risk of death'.

The telehandler was later inspected by health and safety officials, who the court heard found its various defects would have hindered safe operation. It concluded it was 'foreseeable that persons in the vicinity of the vehicle could be injured or killed when the vehicle was working'.

"The operator would have had a restricted view of a person in certain positions near to the rear of the vehicle, more so a person of less than average height," the inspection report added.

But on Tuesday (February 4), jurors found Mr Speakman not guilty, clearing him of gross negligence manslaughter. He previously pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of breaching a section of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

The trial heard Mr Speakman was interviewed by police and said Albie 'knew not to go near anything'. He said: "He knew, he weren't f****** stupid... it's a farm isn't it? It's not a f****** playground and Albie

Read more on manchestereveningnews.co.uk
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