A father who reversed into his three-year-old son with a farm vehicle, killing the “caring and affectionate” toddler, has been jailed for 12 months.
Albie Speakman suffered catastrophic injuries after he wandered into the yard where Neil Speakman, 39, was operating a telehandler vehicle at his farm in Bury, Greater Manchester.
Speakman was this month cleared of gross negligence manslaughter over Albie’s death in July 2022, after the toddler had been left to play in an insecure garden area in front of the farmhouse in warm weather. The father said the incident was a “tragic accident”.
However on Friday he was sentenced to 12 months in prison after admitting to a breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act in failing to ensure the safety of Albie.
The toddler’s mother, Leah Bridge, had dropped off her son at the farm for a regular weekend visit with Speakman who she separated from shortly after Albie’s birth.
Sentencing judge Mr Justice Bourne told him caring for his son should have come first and he should not have been working. He said Albie was left in an area close by with no protection or visibility to the rear of the telehandler, which had a broken wing mirror.
“To state the obvious, it was a terrible tragedy for the child, for you and for Ms Bridge and the other family members,” the judge said. “You have got to face up to the responsibility of that.
“What happened on 16 July 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.”
The judge noted that 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.”
Giving evidence during the trial at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court, Speakman said that “seconds before” the collision, he had seen his son sitting in the garden playing with the family dogs.
Speakman told the jury he “checked profusely” for blind spots and did not see his son.
He said: “I looked over both shoulders a number of times, I have gone fully round, 180 degrees. If I thought Albie was even an inch into that yard I would never have moved that vehicle.
“If I thought for one second he was not on that grass I would not even have moved that stupid thing.”
He told the jury it was a “tragic accident” which had ruined his life, adding: “I messed up, I shouldn’t have left him there.
“It’s one bit of human error for a split second which has ruined my life.”
In a tearful victim personal statement read to court, Albie’s mother Ms Bridge said his death had shattered her world “into a million irreparable pieces”.
“On the 16th July 2022 my life changed forever, in every single way imaginable,” she said.
“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.”
