A man was killed after a ride-on lawnmower he was using fell on top and 'pinned him' down, an dog

Simon James Theaker was cutting the lawn when the mower fell down a four-metre bank and into a stream at his home.

Company director Mr Theaker borrowed the 250kg Honda lawnmower from his parents' farm earlier that day on May 19, 2020, it was heard.

He was sadly later found in the water underneath the mower by partner Karen Divito after she returned from work.

He was pronounced dead at the scene of his home, in the village of Cusop, near Hay-on-Wye, writes Wales Online.

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A toxicology report found his blood contained 336mg of alcohol per decilitre of blood, with the UK drink-drive limit being 80mg.

Ms Divito last spoke to Mr Theaker at around 12.24pm on the day he died, when he called her at work to talk about the dog, a written statement read aloud said.

Describing coming back home at around 6.05pm she said: "I went round the back of it and then saw the lawnmower in the stream. My initial thought was: 'What an idiot – what has he done?'.

"I thought that he had gone to get the Land Rover with the winch to get it out. At some point I realised I could see legs under the mower.

"After a few seconds it registered that Simon was under the mower. I then ran down into the stream and into the water. He was on his front with the mower on his back. His head was facing upstream and his right hand out in front of him."

His father, in a statement, said Mr Theaker was an experienced driver with a forklift and truck license who had used a ride-on mower to cut the grass at his home for the last six years.

His father, John Theaker, also said his son almost had an accident in 2019 when he neared the edge of the bank and had to jump off the lawnmower moments before.

A post mortem examination by Dr Dan Hopkins said Mr Theaker suffered injuries including red-coloured bruising on the left side of his forehead, the upper chest and midline of the upper back between the shoulder blades.

There was no suggestion he had drowned and no defensive-type injuries were found.

A cause of death was listed as alcoholic toxicity and positional asphyxia.

He said: "It is likely that the high concentration of alcohol within the bloodstream would have impaired consciousness level, coordination, mobility, and decision-making skills."

Dr Hopkins added: "This has more than likely contributed to the events leading up to the death as well as reducing the deceased's ability to rescue himself from beneath the lawnmower."

During the inquest assistant coroner Thomas Atherton returned a conclusion of accidental death contributed to by alcohol.

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