A stable hand at a farm pony trekking centre died after she was crushed by a falling straw bale in a "very unfortunate accident", an inquest heard. Julie Parry made a frantic call for help as she was trapped between the half-ton bales but later died in hospital.
The 49-year-old was injured at Bwlchgwyn Farm in Arthog, Gwynedd, on January 9, 2018, but died on January 12 at Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor. During the inquest hearing Ms Parry's father Stuart Eves told the coroner it was "just a pure accident". He added: "The family as a whole in no way hold Bwlchgwyn in error. It was just a very, very unfortunate accident."
Gemma Evans, owner of the farm with her husband John, said Ms Parry was “very experienced and knowledgeable”. The stable hand, from Stanley Road, Fairbourne, had been feeding horses, NorthWalesLive reports.
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Mrs Evans had been in the farmhouse kitchen with others at lunchtime when there was a call to the landline. “The voice was very distorted. We couldn’t understand what was being said,” Mrs Evans said. The caller’s number was typed into a mobile phone and it was realised it had been her employee.
Imogen Evans, daughter of the farm owners, said she and others rushed to the horse barn. “We were running, looking for her, shouting.” Matthew Jones found Julie Parry standing up but pinned between bales. Farrier Rhydian Evans said a bale was removed by her rescuers but she had no pulse. He had started CPR.
Farmer John Evans said bales weighed up to half a ton. They’d been stacked in a “safe” manner in small piles. The stack in question was eight to 10 feet high, he added.
The Health and Safety Executive regarded the stack as “stable.” Pathologist Dr Mared Owen-Casey said there was a crush injury to the chest.
North West Wales acting senior coroner Katie Sutherland told the jury: "We are not seeking to apportion any blame. It’s not known what Julie was doing immediately before she became trapped." An inquest jury at Caernarfon returned a conclusion of misadventure.
The jury foreman said the worker had been found trapped across the chest by a fallen straw bale in a gap between two hay bales. She made a phone call to her employer and was taken to hospital but later died.
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