A wealthy landowner ‘ignored the instruction manual’ when he sent his gardener to spray weeds on a quad bike before it tipped over and killed him, a court has heard.
Defence company boss husband Nicholas Prest, 71, and his wife, former English National Ballet dancer Anthea, 70, are accused of failing to give adequate safety gear or training to their staff following the death of groundsman Paul Marsden.
Mr Marsden died when a quad bike all terrain vehicle tipped over at the wealthy couple’s £2.5million country estate, close to the village of Llandogo, in Monmouthshire, while he was spraying weeds, Newport Crown Court heard.
The 47-year-old was discovered ‘blue’ and unable to breath after being pinned under the vehicle and died from asphyxia.
Mr Prest, who was described as ‘highly intelligent’, had sent Mr Marsden out to spray weed killer on a 40 degree slope with a five degree side slope on ‘rough and uneven’ terrain not suitable for a loaded quad-bike.
The court heard the former Ministry of Defence official thought he ‘knew better than Honda’ when he advised the groundsmen what pressure the quad bike tyres should be – and ignored the instruction manual.
Mr Prest and his mother-of-three wife are each accused of two charges under the Health and Safety at Work act in relation to Mr Marsden’s death – but do not face charges of manslaughter.
Instead they are accused over charges of failing to check workers had protective equipment and that the quad bike was safe to use.
Wealthy landowner Nicholas Prest (pictured), 71, ‘ignored the instruction manual’ when he sent his gardener to spray weeds on a quad bike before it tipped over and killed him
Mr Prest’s wife and former English National Ballet dancer Anthea, 70. The pair are accused of failing to give adequate safety gear or training to their staff
A court heard Mr Marsden had worked for the couple since 2013 and been using a quad bike to spray weed killer on farmland surrounding their home when he fell in April 2020.
On the day of the tragedy Mr Marsden brought cake to share with colleague Nicholas Miles at their break time with a cup of coffee – but didn’t show up for their planned meeting.
Mr Miles, who had been power washing around the couple’s swimming pool and surrounding garden furniture, said he began to get concerned when Mr Marsden didn’t arrive.
Mr Miles said he went back to work after his break until he stopped for lunch around 1.05pm and Mr Marsden did not turn up and then went to look for him.
He said: ‘I could see the quadbike had turned over. Initially I was hoping he would be stood next to it.
‘It was turned over. When I got close enough to see I could see he was underneath it.
‘The quadbike had come down on his back and he was pinned to the ground with his arms out-stretched.
‘Initially I shouted to him as I was getting closer and closer but as I got up close I could see that he had started to go blue.
Mr Marsden’s countryside estate, which the couple have owned since April 2020
Pictured: the Prests’ garden at their luxury country home near Llandogo, Monmouthshire, south Wales
Prosecutor James Puzey said Mr and Mrs Prest ‘had a legal responsibility to ensure that the workers on their land were safe.’
But he said they failed to do what they ‘would have and should have done’ to prevent the accident by not providing adequate training and PPE.
Mr Puzey said a Health and Safety Executive investigation ‘Concluded that the use of the quadbike was seriously unsafe, and that no suitable safety precautions were taken beforehand’.
Mr Puzey said Mr Marsden had not been trained to drive the vehicle, was not provided with PPE, and the Prests had not ensured the weight of the herbicide tank was safe.
He said the land where the accident happened was also ‘relatively steep, with uneven and rough ground conditions.’
David Whitton, of the Health and Safety Executive, said the field where the tragedy took place was not suitable for the quad-bike to be loaded with the weedkiller.
He said: ‘Any load added to a quad bike will raise the centre of gravity. That will make it less stable.
‘With the addition of the extra mass of the spray-tank it would increase the centre of gravity and make it more likely to be able to lose control.’
Keith Morton KC, defending, said Mr Marsden was working on a self-employed basis and was working at his own risk.
Mr Prest, previously worked for the MoD before setting up his own companies and is now the chairman of defence technology giant Cohort.
He lives with Mrs Prest at the sprawling countryside house close to the village of Llandogo, in Monmouthshire which overlooks the River Wye and across into the Forest of Dean.
Mr Prest (pictured, left) and his wife (pictured, right) leaving court
The couple have previously hosted a number of garden parties at the Pilstone House home as charity fundraising events for causes such as the NHS and the Ukraine.
In his closing speech, Mr Puzey said: ‘Both Mr and Mrs Prest were involved in instructing Mr Marsden on what to do and where to go.
‘Mrs Prest drew the map and Mr Prest showed Mr Marsden the controls on the spray machine.
‘The problem with the defence claim that Mr Marsden was perfectly competent to do this job is that he had never used this equipment before.
‘We know that because Mr Prest had to show him how to use the controls. The couple had never seen him with a spray tank on the back of the quad bike.’
The trial, at Newport Crown Court, continues.
