Couple accused of failing health and safety duties following death of farm worker
16th October 2025
Nicholas and Anthea Prest from Monmouthshire have been accused of failing to comply with health and safety regulations following the death of a worker on their farmland.
A self-employed contractor, Paul Marsden, lost his life on 24th April 2020 while working in a field near couple’s home in Llandogo.
The post-mortem examination concluded that the man died of asphyxia after the quad bike he was riding crushed him.
The Newport Crown Court heard that Mr Marsden was not wearing a helmet and had not received training on how to operate the quad bike. It was revealed that the vehicle had not been subject to daily inspections, including tyre checks.
Fellow contractor Nick Miles, who was working with Mr Marsden on the day of the accident, told the court that he also had not received any formal training on how to operate an ATV safely.
“We didn’t check them; we just rode them around. If there was anything obvious, we would have stopped,” he said according to BBC News.
The man also said that the vehicle’s tyres had been inflated to between eight and 10 PSI when they should have been inflated to five PSI.
Nicholas and Anthea Prest are jointly accused of failing to discharge health and safety duties under the Safety at Work Act. They each deny the charge, BBC News reports.
The trial continues.
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