Kevin Peckham, 66, who had previously worked as head lad to William Haggas for more than a decade, was believed to have been cleaning the machine alone when he became trapped, an inquest jury heard
Trainer’s father died at work in Newmarket(Image: PA)
The father of a former racehorse trainer died of traumatic asphyxia after getting crushed in a horse walker, an inquest has heard.
Kevin Peckham, 66, was a well known member of the racing community in Newmarket where his past jobs included a role as head lad to top trainer William Haggas over more than a decade. His son George was a licensed trainer for six years up to 2019 since when he changed the business into a pre-training operation for whom Peckham Snr was working at the time of his death in May 2021.
An inquest held in Huntingdon on Tuesday was told that Kevin Peckham, who was due to celebrate his birthday later that day, was discovered by his wife Jackie after he had failed to return home at lunchtime, according to a report by the Newmarket Journal .
In a written statement she said she had found her husband wedged between one of the partitions, used to push the horses along, and the side wall. Although the machine was not turning, the motor was still running.
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After trying unsuccessfully to pull her husband free, she hit the emergency button to turn it off and called emergency services who pronounced Mr Peckham dead at the scene. A post mortem revealed he had died as a result of traumatic asphyxia.
George Peckham told the inquest his father had years of experience working in the racing industry and had supervised a number of horse walkers made by the same manufacturer “hundreds of thousands of times throughout his career”.
On the day of the incident his father had sent his co-worker home as their work was complete, George Peckham said.
George Peckham: said circumstances of father’s death ‘were not foreseeable'(Image: RACINGFOTOS.COM)
“Unfortunately there were no witnesses to what happened thereafter,” he said. “And nor can anyone say with absolute certainty what my father was doing at the time. We can guess from the circumstances in which he was found that he was cleaning the horse walker on his own and with it powered on.”
He said the company’s safe system of work designated cleaning the horse walker as a two-person job, which should only ever be undertaken with the machine powered off.
“The rule was known to all,” he said. “I have never seen anyone clean a horse walker under power and could not believe this was what my father had been doing. The unique circumstances of my father’s death were not foreseeable or foreseen.”
George Peckham added: “I can’t explain why he chose to clean the horse walker under power. I had never seen him do this before, there was no need for him to do it as there was another person working with him that morning.”
Kevin Peckham was well known in racing circles in Newmarket(Image: GETTY)
Mr Peckham said because the equipment used to clean the horse walker was found outside it, he believed his father had come out of the machine and had perhaps had gone back in to retrieve his mobile phone, which was later found inside on the floor, realising too late that the panels were coming round.
Cambridgeshire coroner Elizabeth Gray said there was no evidence George Peckham Racing Ltd had not provided a safe working environment or that the horse walker operation had contributed to Mr Peckham’s death.
The jury returned a verdict of misadventure, with the foreperson outlining rules which were in place for the safe operation of the horse walker.
The jury foreperson said: “Mr Peckham disregarded these regulations and unfortunately that resulted in the loss of his life.”