James Southey died after Storm Goretti caused widespread damage across Cornwall
An inquest has heard that a gardener died when a tree fell on his caravan during Storm Goretti. James Southey, 50, lost his life after 90mph winds uprooted a nearby tree and fell onto his home in Cornwall.
Storm Goretti caused widespread damage across the south east of the UK at the start of the year, with 50,000 homes left without power. Thousands of fallen trees also blocked major highways and rural routes. Neighbours of Mr Southey heard the tree come down during the storm but were unable to reach the father-of-two who was trapped inside the caravan.
They contacted the emergency services who attended the scene at the farm in Mawgan, Helston, on the evening of January 8, but due to the storm they could not rescue him. Mr Southey's body was recovered the following day and a post-mortem examination later found he had died from suffocation, Cornwall Coroner’s Court was told. Farmer Martin Williams, who was Mr Southey’s landlord, said the storm started at around 6.30pm and caused a power cut in his house.
In a statement read to the court, he said: "I looked out of the window and could still see the light from James' log burner coming from the caravan.
"My wife Suzanne was looking around the house for candles so that we were not in darkness and that’s when we heard a noise that sounded like thunder. It was a loud rumbling noise. Suzanne went upstairs and she told me she had looked outside and could not see James’ log burner anymore or the outline of the tree, so she thought the tree had come down.
" Mr Williams also said he went to the caravan, but was unable to get to the front door due to the fallen tree. He said: "All I could see was the tree. I was shouting for James but could not hear any reply.
"I smashed the bedroom window which cut my finger and was bleeding quite badly. I climbed in and continued shouting for James. I couldn’t see him in there, so I tried to get to the left-hand side of the caravan, but it was completely crushed and I couldn’t get anywhere.
"Neighbour Brett Jolliffe also joined Mr Williams in trying to rescue Mr Southey, but neither was able to reach him. Emergency services returned to the farm the following day and tree surgeon Robert Blythman was able to cut away parts of the tree to allow access to the caravan. Mr Blythman said the tree was in a healthy condition with a full canopy.
He said: "These trees are not native to the area and do generally have a shallow root base. It was located at the bottom of fields and there was lots of water run off towards it.. There was a large treehouse on the side of the tree, but I do not think this had any bearing on the tree uprooting.
"Devon and Cornwall Police investigated Mr Southey's death but did not find any third party involvement. Assistant Cornwall Coroner Emma Hillson recorded a conclusion of accidental death. She said: "The Health and Safety Executive and Cornwall Council confirmed that there were no further investigations into his death in these circumstances of him being a private rental tenant on a non-working farm.
"It is not believed there is any third-party involvement or culpability in relation to James' death. On the evidence, I find it is most likely than not that James died as a result of the position of the tree when it fell.
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