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December 15, 2016

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Prison for drunk farmer who ran over and killed young boy

A self-employed farmer has been jailed for 16 months after running over and killing a young boy with his tractor, while driving at 2.5 times over the legal drinking limit.

Harry Whitlam, 11, was at Swithens Farm in Rothwell, Leeds, where his mother worked.

Harry regularly went to the petting farm, parts of which were open to the public and parts of which were closed off and separated from the public by barriers.

Leeds Crown Court heard that it was normal practice for Harry to be allowed in the working areas off the farm, but that workers would ensure he was either accompanied or would remain in the public section.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive found that on 9 August 2013, a tractor within the closed off section of the farm was reversing up the yard to attach its vacuum trailer to the septic tank.

At 9:15am in the morning Harry was walking towards a member of staff when he was fatally struck by the tractor.

Gary Green, the driver of the tractor, was breathalysed following the incident by the police and was found to be 2.5 times over the alcohol limit for driving on a road.

Gary Green, Bradburn Road, Wakefield, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(2) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and was sentenced to 16 months and 2 weeks in prison, with immediate effect.

Pam Whitlam, Harry’s mother said: “The day we lost Harry our close knit family was changed forever. We all miss him dearly and it has not got easier with time but harder.

“Harry was my youngest son a much loved brother, grandson, nephew and cousin. The only memories I currently have of Harry are from the day of the accident but his life was so much more.

“It is not okay for anyone whether on a public road or private land to be drunk and get behind the wheel of a vehicle. My hope today, now the court process is complete, is that Harry’s life becomes more than one day and as a family we can again remember the good times we shared.”

HSE inspector, Julian Franklin, said “This is an extremely tragic case. Harry was a young boy whose life was cut short by the reckless behaviour of Gary Green. Drink driving legislation does not apply on private land but it does not mean you can blatantly disregard the health and safety of those around you when driving heavy and dangerous machinery.”

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Simon Joyston-Bechal
Simon Joyston-Bechal
7 years ago

This case is interesting because the HSWA was used for an offence that would normally be dealt with as a road traffic offence. Whereas the road traffic offence would have been heavily based on outcome, ranging from mere penalty points to prison, the new sentencing guidelines mean that health and safety offences are punished very similarly regardless of outcome. If this tractor driver had been similarly over the limit but there had been no injury, his 18 month jail sentence under the guidelines would most likely have been just 6 months shorter. Many people would say that’s right because the… Read more »

Guy Smith
Guy Smith
7 years ago

The desire for greater sentences where a breach leads to severe harm is genuine and honourable, but dilutes the possible consequences, leading to more risk-taking, not less.

Offences are usually committed in the expectation that nothing bad will happen. This is particularly true for safety, where possible outcomes may not even have been considered. Sentences that punish the risk-taker, regardless of whether it “went wrong”, are a far stronger deterrent.

Surely that’s the outcome we want – reduced risk exposure, leading to fewer injuries? ,

Ray Rapp
Ray Rapp
7 years ago

It is an interesting case, but not for the RTA consequences as far as I’m concerned. The new SC guidelines now take into account the risk as well as the outcome, whereas in the past it was the outcome which determined the penalty. The outcome of an incident is subject to good/bad fortune. However the risk is a constant, regardless of the outcome. So it is right in my opinion that focusing on the risk created for h&s offences where there is no intention to cause harm is the dominating factor. The other interesting aspect of this case is that… Read more »