The jury in the inquest of a west Oxfordshire man who was crushed to death by a JCB, has recorded a verdict of accidental death.

Tony Cripps, 57, of Cooper Close, Chipping Norton, was on his way to pick elderflowers at Daylesford Farm, Kingham, near Chipping Norton — which is owned by JCB boss Sir Anthony Bamford.

The vehicle — bore a sign which forbade people riding in the bucket.

The driver, Gareth Trueman, had not passed the relevant tests allowing him to operate the vehicle.

Mr Cripps, one of the founding members of Chipping Norton Rugby Club, was working as a gardener on the estate.

The inquest heard that he was perched up to 10ft above the ground, along with colleague Michael Turner, 50, when the vehicle hit a bump. Mr Cripps fell from the machine and was run over.

A post-mortem examination revealed that Mr Cripps died as a result of head and chest injuries.

Returning an accidental death with a narrative verdict, the jury foreman told Gloucestershire coroner Alan Crickmore: "The death was caused by the deceased being transported as a passenger in the JCB grain bucket.

"He fell backwards after the JCB went over uneven ground, falling under the offside front wheel."

After today’s hearing, Mr Cripps's family issued a statement criticising the working practices at Daylesford Organic Farm.

Speaking on behalf of the Cripps family, Stuart Henderson of law firm Irwin Mitchell, said: "This was a particularly horrific workplace fatality, which tragically took the life of a much-loved member of the local Chipping Norton comm- unity.

"It is clear to us this accident could and should have been prevented if proper safety procedures had been followed by his employers.

"In our view, this accident would have been prevented if safe working practices had been followed and a suitable platform, or similar equipment, provided to pick the elderflowers.

"It was patently unsafe to allow workers to be carried in the open bucket of a moving JCB being driven by an untrained driver.

"Our view is that health and safety training and risk management did not have the attention it deserved at Daylesford at the time.

"Hopefully, as a consequence of this tragic accident, this will now have changed.

"We are pursuing a claim for damages on behalf of Mr Cripps's family and the evidence given at the inquest strengthens the claim further."

Mr Henderson added: "Listening to the evidence at the inquest has been a traumatic experience for Mr Cripps's family, but they are relieved they now have a better understanding of what happened on the day of the accident.

"They feel they finally have an element of closure.

"The family thank the coroner for the care and compassion he showed in dealing with the tragic circumstances that led to Mr Cripps's death."