Death of binman, 61, crushed by his own lorry at Princess Anne’s old school was ‘tragic accident’

THE death of a binman crushed by his own lorry at Princess Anne’s old school was a tragic accident, an inquest heard.

Andrew Betts died just four days before his 62nd birthday as he emptied bins at Benenden School near Cranbrook in Kent.

Mr Betts – known to friends and family as Andy – was just one handbrake click away from safety, the hearing was told.

Princes Anne was a pupil at the independent boarding school for girls.

Other former students include TV presenter Amanda de Cadenet, socialite Lady Victoria Hervey plus actresses Rachel Weisz and Ellie Kendrick.

Collection supervisor Mr Betts died instantly from massive chest injuries after being caught between the cab door and the vehicle’s frame when the truck rolled into a hedge.

He had been driving the refuse truck on November 25 last year when he climbed out to help a colleague.

The vehicle, which had been parked on a slight incline, began to roll forward.

Police investigators found the ratchet-style handbrake had only been applied four clicks up when five would have held the vehicle at the top of the 4.7 degree incline.

SCHOOL TRAGEDY

Staff shortages also meant the supervisor was on an active round rather than based in the office as he should have been, the hearing heard.

PC Robin Youngs, a police forensic investigation officer, examined the vehicle after the tragedy.

He told the inquest at the Shepway Centre, Maidstone, that he found no mechanical defects with the 7.5-ton Isuzu, but the handbrake – similar to that found in most cars – had been applied one click from safety.

He then examined the tachograph of the vehicle and determined it had been stationary for 19 seconds before beginning to roll.

It reached a speed of 13mph, but there was evidence the footbrake had been applied just before impact.

There were no witnesses, but the court concluded that once Mr Betts had got out of the cab, the vehicle began to roll away and he ran alongside it before leaning in in an unsuccessful bid to stop the vehicle by pushing the foot brake by hand.

Mr Betts, of Tonbridge, Kent, initially got out of the vehicle to help his loader – Edward Sheldrake – the only other member of the crew.

Assistant Coroner Alan Blunsdon heard that although Mr Betts was fully qualified to drive the vehicle and extremely experienced, it was not his job to do so.

As a supervisor with waste contractor Urbaser, his main role was to schedule staff to the various rounds.

On that morning, another driver, an agency worker named Mark Rabbett, had been due to drive the 7.5-ton narrow-access vehicle on round six, the area around Cranbrook.

In a written statement read to the inquest, Mr Rabbett described how Mr Betts had reassigned him to a different round that morning because of staff shortages, with Mr Betts deciding to drive the round himself.

It is believed Mr Betts made this decision because round six was the shortest round and so could be completed more quickly, allowing him to return to base to continue his other supervisory duties.

Usually there were two loaders but, again, because of staff shortages there was only one on duty that day.

STAFF SHORTAGES

Questioned by William Irwin, a barrister representing Mr Betts’ family, Mr Sheldrake said for six months Urbaser had made no changes but then had “completely altered all the collection routes”.

He said: “Most of the new rounds were too big for anyone to complete. You’d end up finishing Monday’s round on a Wednesday.”

He added the company’s policy had initially been “wait and see”, hoping crews would speed up as they got used to the new routes, but eventually the firm had to introduce many more collection lorries and hire more staff.

However, he said shortages of both drivers and loaders continued due to the pandemic causing further staffing problems.

Urbaser’s assistant service manager Patrick Hopkins also told the jury the vehicle driven by Mr Betts was unusual as it still had a ratchet handbrake.

The majority of vehicles in Urbaser’s fleet were fitted with air brakes for both the foot pedal and the parking brake.

They also had alarms that sounded if the cab door was opened with the parking brake not fully activated, but Mr Betts’ vehicle had no such alarm.

After hearing the evidence, the jury concluded the death was the result of an accident.

Expressing his condolences to Mr Betts’ widow Lesley and daughter Laura, Mr Blunsdon said he had been “a very brave man trying to repair the situation”.

He added that he would consider whether it was necessary for him to write a report giving advice that might help prevent future accidents after written submissions from Mr Betts’ family and Urbaser’s legal team.

Mr Betts had been a keen darts player, having previously played for the Kent county team and been a contestant on the popular TV darts quiz show Bullseye.