A MAN crushed to death by a skip at a council tip had told his wife someone would be killed at the site, an inquest heard.
Wakefield Council worker Paul Sharp, 42, died in November 2001 when a three-and-a-half tonne skip loaded with cardboard shot from the back of a lorry at the Denby Dale Road depot because of faulty hydraulics.
The court heard how the huge skips, meas
uring 18ft by 7ft, were driven into a room at the back of the site so the cardboard could be sorted to sell.
The skips were loaded on to lorries and tipped backwards to empty their loads.
The court heard that on the day of the incident cardboard had become lodged in the skip, so it had been left virtually upright for 20 minutes – putting maximum pressure on the hydraulics.
PC Paul Lingard, of West Yorkshire Police Accident and Investigation Unit, said the accident was caused by creeping, a slow movement of the hydraulics undetectable to the naked eye.
He said: "The mechanism collapsed and the skip ejected from the vehicle."
Mr Sharp died from massive chest injuries. He suffered rib fractures and damaged lungs.
Wakefield coroner David Hinchliff told the court Mr Sharp, of Beech Tree Road, Purston, near Pontefract, was a respected and well-liked employee who was very safety-conscious.
He said no one, including Mr Sharp, knew there was a problem with the lorry.
A statement written by Mr Sharp's wife Lillian revealed: "Some time earlier in the year Paul had come in and had been very upset with working conditions. His main complaint was that equipment was faulty. I can honestly say that time and time again Paul told me someone will be killed at his place of work."
Robert Wilkinson, site manager with the council, said employees had been fully trained. The coroner ruled out a verdict of gross negligence manslaugh-ter, recording accidental death.
