Farmer who killed three-year-old son in vehicle collision jailed for 12 months

A farmer who killed his three-year-old son when he reversed a defective vehicle into him has been jailed for 12 months.

Albie Speakman suffered catastrophic injuries from the collision with a telehandler that Neil Speakman was operating in Bury, Greater Manchester, on July 16 2022.

The incident happened in a yard next to an unsecured small garden area at the front of the farmhouse in Bentley Hall Road, Walshaw, where the defendant had left Albie to play.

Earlier this month, a jury at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court cleared Speakman of gross negligence manslaughter.

On the first day of his trial, Speakman, 39, pleaded guilty to an offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act in failing to ensure, so far as reasonably practical, the health and safety of Albie.

Jurors were told that to find he had acted with gross negligence they needed to be sure the circumstances of the breach were “truly exceptionally bad”.

The toddler’s mother, Leah Bridge, had dropped off her son at the farm on July 16 for a regular weekend visit with Speakman who she separated from shortly after Albie’s birth.

Jailing Speakman on Friday, Mr Justice Bourne told him: “To state the obvious it was a terrible tragedy for the child, for you and for Ms Bridge and the other family members.

“You have got to face up to the responsibility of that.

“What happened on July 16 2022 was not bad luck. It was an entire failure to look after Albie and keep him safe.

“It was not appropriate for you to work. Caring came first.

“There were three adults at the farm that day so there was nothing difficult in keeping him safe.”

Speakman had borrowed the Kramer telehandler from a neighbour and was using it to move woodchips into bags when Albie wandered into the yard.

The judge told him: “The risk of harm was created by a combination of factors.

“While Albie was in your care you were using the telehandler – having had no training –  instead of looking after him and he was in an area close by with no protection.

“Visibility to the rear of the telehandler was compromised. One of the wing mirrors was missing, one was dirty, and the vehicle made no warning sound when reversing.

“I am sure that your acts and omissions that day created a risk of harm that day, including death.”

Mr Justice Bourne said he acknowledged Albie’s death had had a “very profound impact” on the defendant and that he had since taken steps to make the farm a “much safer place” for his two young children by his current partner.

But he said the appropriate sentence could only be achieved by immediate custody for the “appalling consequences” for Albie and Ms Bridge.

The judge noted  the rate of fatal accidents in agricultural workplaces was far higher than all other industrial workplaces, with being hit by a moving vehicle the leading cause of death.

He went on: “It is important for those in the farming profession to know that offences of this kind will attract strict legal consequences as well as personal consequences.”

Speakman has numerous previous convictions for unrelated offences involving violence and public order, and had previously received two suspended jail terms, including one for dangerous driving in 2009.

A tearful Ms Bridge read out her victim personal statement from the witness box of the court as Speakman looked on from the dock.

She said: “On the 16th July 2022 my life changed forever, in every single way imaginable.

“My world has been shattered into a million irreparable pieces, and no-one can fix it or understand what I am going through.

“And there are absolutely no words to describe how I’m feeling – pain, sadness, heartbreak, they don’t even come close.

“There are still so many questions that will forever remain unanswered. Why you? Did you suffer? How could someone think that little of you that they would risk your life?

“The only thing that keeps me going is thinking that every new day is one day closer to me seeing you again. I love you endlessly my sunshine boy.”

Following sentencing, Health and Safety Executive inspector Mike Lisle said: “This tragedy could easily have been avoided if our guidance was followed.

“Our guidance clearly states children should be kept away from farming activities and work traffic, remaining in a safe space such as a securely fenced play area.

“Farms are workplaces but often have a farmhouse within the grounds. This makes the provision of safe areas for children even more important.”