Tractor deaths were misadventure

Mark Wells, 41, and his 19-year-old son Luke drowned when the vehicle they were using to cut hedges along the banks of a canal plunged into the water.

The pair were trapped inside the tractor when it fell into the Kennet and Avon canal near Pewsey, in 2004.

The inquest, in Salisbury, was told the two men should not have been in the tractor's cab at the same time.

Mr Wells, from Seend Cleeve, and his son, from Melksham, had been working on the canal towpath for British Waterways when they died, but no checks had been carried out by the company.

Despite guidelines stating that there should be a distance of 1.3m between the edge of the bank and the tractor, the inquest heard sections of the path where the accident happened were the same width as the tractor itself.

An investigation into the incident by the Health and Safety Executive is ongoing.

Ian Jarvis, British Waterways manager for the south west, told the BBC: "British Waterways has expressed its deepest sympathy to the family and loved ones of Mark and Luke Wells.

"We take the the safety of all the people who use our waterways very seriously indeed."

Mr Jarvis said he could not go into detail because of the ongoing investigation, but that the company's policies and practices had been changed since the accident.

RELATED INTERNET LINKS:
Wiltshire Police
Health and Safety Executive
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites