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Man killed when lorry trailer fell and hit him, Leicester inquest told

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A 25-year-old killed underneath a lorry he was working on was using a jack in an unsafe way, an inquest heard.

Engineer Mark Wintersgill, of Broughton Astley, was checking the underside of a lorry trailer at PPR Transport Services, in Lutterworth, when the tragedy happened.

An inquest jury at Leicester Town Hall heard Mr Wintersgill had used a large compressed air jack to lift the rear axle of the trailer, which was parked on a pair of concrete ramps.

The jack came away and the inquest heard it then hit Mr Wintersgill's head as the trailer came down, causing fatal injuries.

Paul Roberts, who owns PPR, said he had never seen an air jack being used in this way . He said that the safe method for inspecting brakes and bearings was to use a different jack.

He said: "When the trailer is on a ramp, you would use smaller bottle jacks to lift an axle up."

When asked if he would ever use an air jack in that way, he said he would not.

Sam Hunt, who worked with Mr Wintersgill, said he had seen other employees at the yard using the wrong kind of jack.

He said: "I'd never used air jacks like that because I didn't think it was safe.

"Some people would do it because it was easier – you just pull a lever and it goes up. But it's not safe.

"I've always said to people that it's a bit dodgy, but everyone does it their own way."

Describing the fatal accident, on June 25 last year, Mr Roberts said: "It was a very ordinary day and he was buzzing as he always was.

"He was very popular.

"I was in my office and I heard a very loud bang. The next thing was shouting."

Mr Wintersgill was pronounced dead at the scene and police were called to investigate.

After police concluded no other person was involved in the accident, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) was called in.

HSE investigator Dr David Lefever said he found several wooden blocks at the scene of the accident, which might have been between the air jack and the trailer, which he said should not be done.

He said: "I believe blocks of wood are used from time to time in the industry, but there were two labels on the jack warning against this."

The inquest continues.

Man killed when lorry trailer fell and hit him, Leicester inquest told


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