A NORTH Yorkshire farming partnership has been ordered to pay £28,690 for safety lapses that led to a farmer accidentally driving over a pensioner and killing him.

A second person was also at risk of falling under the vehicle driven by farmer Anthony Ackroyd, a health and safety executive (HSE) spokesman said.

The deceased man had worked on Ackroyd’s farm before retiring, and lived nearby.

B & L Ackroyd farming partnership of Waller House Farm, Wighill Park, Tadcaster, pleaded guilty at Leeds Magistrates Court to two breaches of health and safety regulations.

It was fined £18,000 and ordered to pay £10,690 costs.

Leeds magistrates heard that Ackroyd was driving a JCB telescopic loader on February 22, 2017, on the firm’s land at Waller House Farm.

He had three bales of hay loaded on the vehicle’s front. Between them they severely obstructed his view forward.

“He could not see the deceased and drove over him, killing him instantly,” said an HSE release.

The pensioner lived at a cottage close to the farm, which he visited regularly after retiring.

From time to time he did gardening work there.

As well as the hay, Ackroyd also had an employee on the vehicle, standing on its mounting step.

“Had he slipped off the step, he would have fallen directly under the wheels of the machine,” said the spokesman.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Julian Franklin said: “This was a tragic and wholly avoidable incident.

“Drivers should ensure that they can always see in front of them or take equally effective precautions.

“Vehicles at work continue to be a major cause of fatal and major injuries; every year there are over 5,000 incidents involving transport in the workplace.

“About 50 of these result in people being killed.”

The Ackroyd farm is listed as mixed agriculture.

The deceased man is believed to have been in his 80s.